Pinky fingers up girls, the annual Sarah Catherine Tea in St George is back.

The annual tea in the St George’s Historical Society Museum gardens is for girls from seven to 12 years old. It is based on a character created by etiquette teacher Trudy Snaith, the author of ‘A Hat for a Promise’.

Mrs Snaith said she started the tea during the 2009 400th anniversary of Bermuda’s settlement.

“I thought with all the events being arranged, there weren’t any for children to participate in,” she said. “This was a way for them to take part. The book with Sarah Catherine actually came later.”

The character, Sarah Catherine, is a free black girl growing up in 1650.

“I chose 1650 because I felt it was very likely that there were freed black people in Bermuda at that time,” said Mrs Snaith. “I didn’t want her to be a slave; I wanted her to be a freed person. Her parents came to Bermuda as indentured servants. Shortly afterward there was a lot of problems with slavery in Bermuda and a lot of the black population was sent to other islands, so the story wouldn’t have worked in a later time frame. It was not as likely that there were a lot of freed black people in Bermuda then.”

Sarah Catherine hosts the tea in period costume. During the early years of the tea, Kayla Dowling played the part, but she has now grown too old. At the tea, she will be reading from the book ‘A Hat for a Promise’ instead. Now the character is played by Rylee Gardner.

Other children also participate, such as Eliza Olander, who leads tours through the museum.

“Sarah Catherine has to stay in character,” said Mrs Snaith. “One year a little girl asked her whether she liked flying in an aeroplane. Sarah said: ‘What’s an aeroplane?’”

During the tea, artist Ronnie Chameau usually demonstrates a craft from the time period such as making banana leaf dolls or palmetto hats.

The tea will be held on May 18 from 2pm to 4pm. Tickets are $15 available from Mrs Snaith at bermudiangirl@logic.bm or 505-8358. Little girls are urged to wear their prettiest floral dresses and hats.