'It's unicorn, by a horn' – Event at Belknap Mill raised funds on Derby Day

LACONIA — The Second Annual “It’s All About the Hat” event took place on May 7, at the Belknap Mill, to raise funds for Gilda’s Club NH, an organization that believes no one should go through cancer alone. The event highlighted a celebrity jockey race and a live stream of the Kentucky Derby, and participants could bet on both.

"I came up with the Kentucky Derby event a couple of years ago and planned it and then COVID hit, so we had to postpone it... What we do is first we have a live celebrity race, we have the mayor, police officers, community members, and they dress as jockeys and everyone takes a chance on them," said Sue Caroselli, owner of Eleganza Wig and Hat Boutique and founder of the fundraiser. "The first year we did it we ended up donating $8,000 and we’re hoping to beat that this year, it’s a really fun event.”

Caroselli opened her shop not long before the pandemic began and had talked about the need for a local wig shop. Working with people who have lost their hair, and hearing their stories, she wanted to do more, and organized the "It’s All About the Hat" event.

“Sue is pretty amazing, I’ve known Sue for a while, and she kind of talked this idea out with me and I was like, yeah, you’re going to do this... When someone loses their hair due to cancer, and the treatment for cancer, it can be very devastating, so to be able to go into a shop and have personal attention given to you to help to get through this piece of what you’re dealing with is really important,” said Tara Shore, last year’s winner of the celebrity race.

Along the course of the event racers have to perform a range of tasks, from dancing the Macarena, to going in slow motion, as music and laughter accompany the jockeys' every stride.

“This is a really fun, different event that’s not happening [elsewhere] in New Hampshire and everybody loves a laugh, everybody loves to see someone do something silly... We have some really great sports racing with us this year, it’s always interesting. Mayor Hosmer is coming back this year, and he swore he was going to win. He was a little upset that I won last year, so I think I have some competition,” said Shore.

At the beginning of the race early Saturday evening, the tensions were high, as the mayor, and other contestants who appeared as a unicorn and an ostrich, were at odds with who really belonged there at all. A giant panda rounded out the fierce heat of competitors assembled at the starting line, as things went ahead as planned, before any mayoral paperwork could be litigated.

“The race is going to be very competitive, we have a lot of strong horses, we have an ostrich, we have a unicorn. We have already filed a protest against the unicorn. The unicorn does not belong in this race, she is the 5-to-3 favorite right now,” said Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer.

When the dust settled and the finish line was finally crossed, it was indeed the unicorn after all that took the day, winning the race with both style and grace.

“My horse, ‘Deja vu’, she’s a very special horse, she’s a unicorn, with special abilities... This is my first year and I won. I had some magic unicorn dust that really just gave me the edge there at the end," said Alyssa Raxter, school resource officer at the Gilford Police Department and this year’s celebrity race winner. "It’s a great event, we’re lucky enough to be a part of it and to see everyone’s costumes, and have fun with members of the community for a great cause.”

Gilda's Club, originally founded by comedian Gilda Radner, operates spaces around support centers for people with cancer and their families. Gilda's Club NH is a local organization seeking to start such a meeting space in the Laconia area. To learn more call 603-387-6775 or visit gildasclubnh.org.