On Friday Feb. 27, hosted in the ballroom above Fox and Fireflies, the third annual Wearing Joy upcycle fashion show brought a colorful spin on fashion and what you can do with used items. All items shown at this event are handmade, upcycled items that are usually able to be bought. Most Items show cased are donated to be auctioned off.

In the past t

Erica, wearing her own up cycled patch work Canadian tuxedo
Photo by Alicia Zoltowski | Promethean

his event has been able to fundraise 2,000-4,000 dollars for Hope Haven. Hope Haven is a “peer respite home”. Meaning everyone that works at Hope Haven have “lived experience with good mental illness and mental health, and for some people substance use.”  this program is very “person centered.”

This year’s fashion show is “really special”. Hope Haven officially opened their doors in July 2025. Since opening, Hope Haven has been able to serve “over 1,800 people”,  Lynn Geordt expressed before having Chrissy Barnard, the Director of Hope Haven allow the audience to understand what Hope Haven stands for, she graciously shared three stories that showcased the way Hope Haven has impacted people lives and expressed “It’s just good to see that we’re actually able to help people.”

The original idea for Wearing Joy was inspired by a Facebook post from Lynn’s hometown, Sitka, Alaska. The post showed how “everybody made fashion out of, like, Alaska things.” This pushed Lynn to fulfill her “dream activity” of doing her own fashion show as a fundraiser.

Kendallyn Kalenburg wearing a”steam punk look” that includes a lampshade and umbrella hat. Created by Lynn Geordt
Photo by Alicia Zoltowski | Promethean

Lynn always had a liking of fashion, but if she was going to do this, it would be to support something she is passionate about. This fashion “was like a Hope Haven fundraiser” there was no other place Lynn wanted this support to go.

Besides fundraising for Hope Haven, the secondary mission of this show was “celebrating the people that make the clothes, celebrating the people that are modeling the clothes.”  The Fashion show had many participants from the Yellowjacket community ranging from creating clothes, modeling, to even hosting. This event ended with smiling, dancing, and joy.