On July 18 a piece of history, now owned by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, was on display at the new Save-On-Foods grocery store in Yorkton.
Marilyn Monroe wore an iconic dress at John F. Kennedy’s 45th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in 1962 where she breathlessly sang Happy Birthday, Mr. President. Originally designed by Jean Louis and sketched by a young Bob Mackie, the dress features over 2,500 crystals and 6,000 hand-sewn rhinestones, according to a Facebook post by Save-On-Foods.
The dress was purchased by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! at auction for $4.8 (US) million. The equivalent is $6.5 (Can.) million said Heidi Ferriman, director of communications for Save-On-Foods in Yorkton.
Jim Pattison, owner of both Save-On-Foods and Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, was born in Saskatoon to parents who resided in Luseland.
Since he had ties to the town of Luseland, Pattison began the first public tour of the iconic dress in that town of 600 residents. According to Ferriman, more than 2,000 people turned up to view the dress on July 10 in Luseland.
“We have had people from as far away as Kelowna, B.C. and Athabasca, Alta. come to view the dress so far,” said Ferriman. “Reactions of those who see the dress range from disbelief to tears.”
“Save-On-Foods is very proud to welcome Yorkton and Saskatoon to the family of stores and to be able to bring the world’s most famous dress for our customers to see,” she said. “We have also displayed the dress in Regina at our store and, after Yorkton, the dress will be displayed in Winnipeg.
“The dress is secured in a very valuable and protective case that weighs 900 pounds,” she said. “The case is unbreakable. We also have a dozen security personnel on hand at all times to ensure that the dress, and our customers at the store where it is being shown, are safe at all times.
“Save-On-Foods is very proud to go the extra mile for its customers, and customers are always our priority,” she said. “We strive to provide unique offerings at our stores because our goal is to satisfy the customers, and we are very thankful that our sister company has allowed us to ‘wow’ so many people by displaying this dress here in Yorkton and at the other stops we have made and will be making.”
