Come join us for
The 25th Annual Gender-Free
Autumn Harvest Ball!
We are getting ready
again for this fabulous once-a-year Grand Event for our dance community! Tickets are now ready to reserve. This is our
community’s re-creation of a fun, playful, queer Victorian-era ball, with a
program of lively smooth and elegant classic New England contras, quadrilles,
mixers, couple dances and even parlor games, from 1790 to about 1920. As with
all our dances, all figures will be taught, and everyone is welcome.
DATE, TIME & LOCATION & ADMISSION:
Saturday, November 11th, 2023 7:00pm
- 11:00pm (details below)
1st Church of Jamaica Plain (Unitarian Universalist), corner of
Centre and Eliot Streets in Jamaica Plain (Boston), MA.
Tickets: Reserve ahead of time $18.00, at the door $22.00. Students $7.00.
To reserve tickets, email Chris Ricciotti: Ricc...@aol.com or text at 207-382-8300
Kids under 12 - Free! No one is
turned away on ability to pay. If you
have a need for a reduced rate, place contact Chris, or see the person at the
admissions table when you arrive.
ATTACHED IS A FLYER FOR THIS EVENT. PLEASE POST AND SEND ALONG TO FRIENDS!
PROGRAM OF EVENTS:
7:00pm – 7:25pm: Waltzing
7:30pm – 11:00pm: Harvest Ball (with Decadent Pot Luck Dessert!)
Masks are required for this event, however may be removed briefly while
eating. Weather permitting and for
public health reasons, we encourage desserts to be consumed outdoors on the
porch and steps. Please review the JP dance
website for more details on our COVID Policies at https://www.lcfd.org/jp.html
If you have been before, we welcome you to join us again for this
lovely event. But if you haven't been before, here are some details:
Changes to this year’s event:
We are
asking for people to bring homemade desserts for the dessert pot luck, preferably
finger food. Please bring these to the kitchen when you
arrive so we can set them up during the break in the ball program. We are still not ready to return to having
the pot luck dinner beforehand. Perhaps
next year.
VOLUNTEER HELP NEEDED: We will
need volunteer help for setting some decorations on Saturday afternoon (at 1:30pm),
as well as helping to set up and break down for the dessert pot luck during the
break in the evening dance program and help with taking down decorations at the
end of the night. How much we do for
decorating will be completely dependent on the number of folks who are able to
participate in this. If you are able to
volunteer for any of these tasks, please send an email to Chris Ricciotti at Ricc...@aol.com, or by text at (207)
382-8300.
THE TOTALLY DELICOUS DECADENT DESSERT POTLUCK!
Halfway through the ball program,
we have an extended break to enjoy a decadent array of delicious homemade
dessert goodies, made by you!
Finger food is advised for
dessert.
Volunteer help is always
appreciated to help set up and then break down the dessert arrangement
afterwards.
For food ideas or questions,
contact Chris Ricciotti by email at
Ricc...@aol.com,
or by text or phone at
207-382-8300.
WALTZING BEFORE THE BALL
Please plan to arrive and be ready
to dance at 7:00pm. You will be greeted
by the music of the amazing band for this evening’s event. It's a relaxed and lovely way to start the
evening. Ask anyone to dance, and join
in. If you are new to waltzing, we have
plenty of experienced dancers who can help you.
THE MUSIC AND THE MASTERS OF CEREMONY
Music for this evening
is absolutely delightful. We are very honored
to again have Spare Parts as our band: Bill Matthiesen on piano, Liz Stell on
flute, and Eric Buddington on fiddle. Chris Ricciotti and Tony Parkes will be your
Harvest Ball MCs & callers and
leadership for this year’s events.
SO
WHAT DO I WEAR?
We get this question each year. This event is open to everyone, and for this
special once a year event, we encourage attendees to wear something festive or
colorful, or formal, or if you have it, period attire, but we do not have
fashion police on the premises (and if you see someone dressed uniform, it is because
it is their chosen attire for the evening!)
We want everyone to have a good time, and we want you to be
comfortable. Dancing will be lively, but
elegant, and we'll be providing a more relaxed program as compared to our usual
contra dance evenings, so if you decide to gussy up, the style of dances on the
program will be comfortable for anyone wearing formal or period attire.
CONTACT INFO FOR TICKET RESERVATIONS, TO VOLUNTEER, FOOD
QUESTIONS OR IDEAS ON WHAT TO WEAR:
To reserve your tickets now and
for any questions, please email Chris Ricciotti
at Ricc...@aol.com, or contact him by phone or text at (207) 382-8300. You can also reserve tickets ahead of time at
our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/70578940397,
and say register yourself as attending on the Harvest Ball Blurb. Tickets are $18.00 if you reserve before the
ball, and $22.00 at the door. Students
are $7.00 and volunteers can get in for a reduced price or free admission if
you need it. Kids under 12 are free. If you would like to register as a volunteer
for a reduced rate or free admission, contact Chris Ricciotti as noted above.
We look forward to another wonderful ball this year, and we
look forward to seeing you there!
Spread the word, and bring your friends!!
