About 70 mothers clapped and whooped as their friends strutted their stuff on the stage at a Mother’s Day tea and fashion show Friday.

The Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority held the event at LW’s Center on Old East Pinner Street for SRHA residents and Housing Choice Voucher Program participants, as well as the general public. The ladies were encouraged to wear their fanciest hat and model it to the delight of their fellow guests. Afterward, the women were treated to several varieties of tea with sandwiches, fruit and sweets.

“I think we need to let the residents know we appreciate them and they are important,” said Sybil Bullock, housing operations director for the authority.

Clarissa McAdoo, the executive director of the authority, came up with the idea because she wanted to do something for mothers, she said. The authority also holds fatherhood initiatives and plans to treat fathers to a Norfolk Tides game near Father’s Day.

McAdoo said it makes sense to honor mothers because 98 percent of the heads of household in the SRHA system are women.

“This is an opportunity to honor our mothers,” said McAdoo, who brought her own mother to the event. “And it shows that professional women don’t plan all the time. We do have fun.”