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Actress Audrey Hepburn was one of a kind, but more than 100 imitations of her "Breakfast at Tiffany's" character, Holly Golightly, will gather in downtown Frederick next Wednesday.

Colonial Jewelers and the Weinberg Center for the Arts are co sponsoring the oversized dress-up session, which will raise money for the Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund at Frederick Memorial Hospital.

Patty Hurwitz is the co owner of the jewelry store and a breast cancer survivor. She and her husband started the fund after she was diagnosed several years ago. It has raised about $600,000, which has gone toward purchasing cancer treatment equipment for the hospital, including some that will be found in a new breast cancer center that will open in June.

Based on her own experience, Hurwitz wanted to create a place in Frederick so that "women didn't have to leave their family and friends and go so far away for treatment," she said.

Plus, "we like to do fun events at Colonial ... we like to be part of the community," she added.

When Frederick resident Paula Jagemann approached the store with the idea of a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" themed fundraiser, Hurwitz "thought it would be a great fit," she said.

A $50 ticket to the event buys a goody bag filled with a cigarette holder, long black gloves, a tiara, a necklace and sunglasses — all of Golightly's signature accessories. Participants need only to worry about supplying a black dress. The ticket also allows access to a 6:30 p.m. cocktail hour at the jewelry store followed by a showing of the film at the Weinberg Center.

An $85 VIP ticket also includes a Holly Golightly hairstyle by stylists at Sam Wong Hair, make-up by The Temple, a Paul Mitchell partner school in downtown Frederick, and a professional photography sitting. All lookalikes will be offered discounts and specials at some downtown restaurants. Only 300 tickets were available to the event and about 125 have already been sold, according to store marketing director Maryn Forney.

With the combination of glamour, jewelry and cocktails, "we think this is a pretty cool women's bonding night," Hurwitz said.

"It's going to be an estrogen fest," Forney added with a grin. Or "like prom for the non-high school woman."

"I pity the poor men who are just out at the Canal [Bar & Grill] having a beer that night," event co-chair Jagemann said, laughing.

The idea of a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" night came from a bridal shower Jagemann attended several years ago during which the movie was the theme, she said. When she found out Colonial Jewelers was an active fundraising body in Frederick, she approached Hurwitz with the concept through a mutual friend, co-chair Karlys Kline.

She used her career connections to buy the accessories in bulk and on discount, to keep the cost of tickets low in a tough economy.

And, of course, a "little black dress is an ingredient every woman has" she said. She thought it would be a reasonably priced way for women of all ages to support a local cause while also having fun and dressing up.

"The icon ... it's really withstood generations," she said.

One group of ladies who will attend the event includes three generations of women from the same family. Loretta Tillman, a Frederick resident, is the oldest member of that group.

"I don't care how old you get, [girls] like to dress up," she said. Tillman, her daughter and her granddaughter are interested and involved in women's health issues and a night of glamour for an important cause made participating a no brainer, she added.

"The whole theme ... is very elegant and really appealing to women," said Tillman's granddaughter, Caprice Gray. And "when I found out that it went toward research for breast cancer I was very excited."

When it comes down to it, the event is a good example of women helping women while simultaneously having fun, Hurwitz said.

"Women are so busy, you know, there's just not a lot of time ... for women to get together and do fun things," she said.

If this year's event is successful, the store may continue to host hundreds of Holly Golightlys to benefit breast cancer in the future, Forney said.

E-mail Courtney Pomeroy at cpomeroy@gazette.net.

-The "Breakfast at Tiffany's" event begins at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, with cocktails at Colonial Jewelers, 1 S. Market St., Frederick

-At 8 p.m., participants will watch a showing of the movie at the Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St.

-Prizes will be awarded for

the best look-alikes

-To purchase a ticket,

call 301-293-6223 or visit Colonial Jewelers.

-For more information: www.colonialjewelers.com