CANTON: Forget football; the focus was on fashion Friday afternoon at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival.The more than 3,300 ladies who attended the 48th annual Fashion Show Luncheon at the Canton Memorial Civic Center were just as fashionable as the models strutting the latest styles from area retailers.Only 300 women attended the first Hall of Fame Luncheon, held in 1963, said Angela Dimos, chairwoman of the event.“I think we have a few more than that this year,” she quipped.The show has been an annual family affair for the women in the Blend family of North Canton, said Hollie Blend, 28. She has celebrated at the luncheon every year since she was 8, she said. Her grandmother, Mary Blend, 84, who sat next to her Friday, said she has missed only one luncheon since the event began.“We’ve all been coming together for years. I enjoy the entertainment and the people watching,” Hollie Blend said as she dipped into a goodie bag, pulling out wine, snacks and chocolates.Mayor William Healy II welcomed the crowd to the civic center and complimented the men who were in the auditorium.“I’ve got to tell you, the 47 men who are here are the smartest men in the city of Canton today,” the mayor said to laughter from the crowd.Matt Fox, television host of Around the House, seen at 12:30 p.m. Saturdays on Western Reserve Public Media channel 45/49, and host of the radio show Cook and Fox in the Morning on WHBC (1480-AM), has emceed the event for the past two years. He said he felt fortunate to be asked back, since he doesn’t know much about current styles.“Unless it says ‘Garanimals,’ I don’t know anything about fashion,” Fox admitted before the show. He was referring to the line of children’s clothing with tags that make it easier to match tops and bottoms.He credited J.C.Penney for outfitting him in a gray suit and vest, and a black shirt with a stripped tie in shades of red.Around the House, which Fox co-hosts with Shari Hiller, will begin its second season this fall. Fox said the show is filmed in his garage in Malvern, as well as in models of Schumacher Homes in Canton and on White Pond Drive in Akron. The hosts are best known for their HGTV television program, Room by Room, on the air from 1994 to 2007, the longest-running show in the home decorating category, Dimos said.Gift certificates valued at $50 each were awarded to five fashionable ladies chosen from those in attendance. Dr. Sylvia Fisher, dressed to the nines in a teal balloon dress with matching accessories and wearing a pale mauve hat, won the Fan Fashion Favorite contest grand prize of a $250 gift certificate awarded by Westfield Belden Village Mall in Jackson Township.Mary Carter of Canton won a sterling silver and 18-karat yellow gold, amethyst and diamond pendant from Henry B. Ball Jewelers in the grand prize random drawing.Chris Freitag of Waynesburg worked on the security detail at the luncheon, which was so large, guests were divided into four different sections of the civic center. She said she started volunteering after attending her first luncheon four years ago.“I’m glad the festival caters to the ladies with this show. It brings a little feminine into the midst of all the masculine activity going on in Canton this week,” she said.Kathy Antoniotti can be reached at 330-996-3565 or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.