26th Annual Autumn Harvest Ball - sign up now! Saturday, November 9th, 2024

[Christopher Ricciotti]

Come join us for

The 26^th 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 from 1790 to about 1920. As with all our dances, all dances will be taught, and everyone is welcome.

DATE, TIME & LOCATION & ADMISSION:

Saturday, November 9th, 2024    5:30pm (potluck dinner) – 7:00pm (dancing) - 10:30pm    (details below)

1st Church of Jamaica Plain (Unitarian Universalist), corner of Centre and Eliot Streets in Jamaica Plain (Boston), MA. Masks optional (subject to change if current Covid trends change.)

Tickets: $25 suggested contribution; $15-25 sliding scale with $5 discount for pre-registration; $30 Angel contribution; $10 Student rate.  No one will be turned away based on ability to pay, and payment in advance is optional but not required.  If you do wish to pay in advance, we have Venmo:  https://venmo.com/bgfcd

Please pre-register here: https://forms.gle/qWqhYZuYggWRq5di7  Why pre-register?  Pre-registration…

• Enables the discounted ticket price
• Helps dance organizers with dinner setup by providing estimated attendance
• Lets us know what food (see below) and volunteers (also see below) to anticipate

You can also sign up by using our QR Code below:

PLAN OF EVENTS:

4:00pm - 5:30pm:  Doors open for table set up, kitchen prep decorating

(Volunteers needed to help with this!)

5:30pm – 6:45pm:  Candlelit Potluck Dinner – with food from you!

7:00pm – 7:25pm:  Waltzing

7:30pm – 10:30pm: Harvest Ball (with Decadent Pot Luck Dessert!)

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:

VOLUNTEER HELP NEEDED FOR THIS DANCE:

Please use the pre-registration form to sign up for a volunteer time slot. We will need volunteer help at various times starting 4:00 PM and ending around 11:30 PM for setup (tables, chairs, lighting/decorations, dinner), dinner takedown to prepare for the dance, dessert setup and takedown, and putting everything away at the end of the evening.  The quality of setup and decorations will be completely dependent on the number of folks who are able to help with this. 

THE AMAZING POTLUCK DINNER!

We are pleased to announce that we are bringing back the amazing potluck dinner for this year’s event.  And why it’s so good is because it is all homemade food created by you!   If you are planning to attend the dinner potluck, we request that you bring a homemade dish to share for this meal.  Plan to make enough to share for at least 6 people.  We have some great cooks in our community, so come out and share your favorite dinner recipes with us.  In years past, this has been one of the great highlights of the evening ball.    Please bring a small card/paper that displays the name of your dish and the main ingredients, or plan to fill out a card when you arrive at the dance, to be considerate of those with food allergies, dietary restrictions, etc.

THE TOTALLY DELICOUS DECADENT DESSERT POTLUCK!

Halfway through the ball program, we break to enjoy a decadent array of delicious homemade dessert goodies, again, made by you!  Especially if you are not coming to the potluck dinner, please plan to bring a homemade dish for dessert.   

For food ideas or questions, contact Sam Arfer by email at sama...@yahoo.com  or by text or phone at 508-545-1594. 

WALTZING BEFORE THE BALL

Please plan to 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 CEREMONIES

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 will be your Harvest Ball MC & caller for this year’s event.

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.  

QUESTIONS? (OR IDEAS ON WHAT TO WEAR):

Email Chris Ricciotti at Ricc...@aol.com, or contact him by phone or text at (207) 382-8300. 

We look forward to another wonderful ball this year, and we look forward to seeing you there!   Spread the word, and bring your friends!!

[Jeff Dusenberry]

Hello Everyone,

 

We would really appreciate knowing if you are joining us next Saturday at our Annual Harvest Ball.

 

Let us know here:

 

https://forms.gle/qWqhYZuYggWRq5di7

 

Having good estimates helps us plan for seating arrangements and other logistics.

 

We also need more volunteers to make this year's Ball a success, particularly for setup and decorations starting at 4:00.  Please let us know if you are able to volunteer before or during the dance.

 

Thanks!

Jeff

 

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