Masquerade Ball: A Campus-Wide Success

By Maelina Frattaroli

This past Saturday, February 4th, the Campus Activities Board sponsored one of the most highly-anticipated events of the year: the Snowball. Correction: Masquerade Ball for Relief: just like the Snowball, but better. Enthusiastic Gettysburgians entered the Ballroom, dressed in semi-formal attire, and their faces creatively masked. Some masks were painted on students’ faces, some were purchased at the CUB table sales, and others were bought at craft stores.

Catering Services provided a various array of cheeses, crackers, fruit, desserts, and red punch. The French and Italian Department, on Behalf of Il Circolo Italiano, served an antipasti platter and Nutella with butter cookies. Aside from the food, the entire Ballroom was beautifully decorated. This year, the ceiling was adorned with something out of the ordinary: lanterns donated by campus clubs to help the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort.

There were a few factors that inspired the thematic change of this year’s event. According to Jessie Hearn (’06), co-chair of the CAB Traditions Committee along with Lizzie Van Voorhis (’08), “We were approached by [seniors] Lauren Merclean, Marcy Adler, and Brittany Tuosto about making the dance a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina. They realized the need of those devastated by Hurricane Katrina and wanted a way for the campus to come together and help. They suggested the idea of Masquerade Ball with a New Orleans Mardi Gras flavor. Lizzie and I immediately loved the idea. Lauren, Marcy, and Brittany sat on the committee and ran the fundraising aspect.”

There were forty lanterns hung high and lit up, each one representing something unique about Gettysburg College. The money, time, creativity, and colors put into it were sure symbols of not only school spirit, but also generosity. Van Voorhis was also very pleased: “The highest donation came from the Office of College Life. Dean Ramsey let us know that she wanted to purchase 10 lanterns at $15 each.” Both Hearn and Van Voorhis said that it was difficult to predict how much money would be raised due to the fact that it all depended on how generous people were feeling. Between selling the masks, king and queen nominations, lantern and bead purchases, and the Penny War contributions, approximately $1600 was raised.

Without the significant amount of planning put into this event, it would not have been possible. As Hearn recalled, “We started [the] committee meetings at the end of October. At the beginning it was a lot of brainstorming but then turned to action. Since [the ball] is only two weeks into second semester, we had to make sure to have a lot figured out before leaving for Winter Break. Since [having been] back second semester, Lizzie and I had been in communication every day about the Masquerade Ball. It was definitely always on the mind.”

There was no doubt in mind that everyone who attended greatly enjoyed the event. The Buzz Jones Orchestra played swing and jazz from 9:00-11:30, and then the D.J. took over and played some of today’s and yesterday’s hits. During the course of the event, winners for both the Penny Wars and Masquerade King and Queen were announced. The Class of 2009 was the fortunate winner of the Penny Wars. The crowns, selected via raffle system, were awarded to Mike Mack (’06) and Sarah Gregory (’08).

As for the success of the dance, Van Voorhis commented, “We knew it was in essence, just a dance, but we wanted to make sure that it was the best [one] ever and that we would really increase awareness of the event and encourage people to donate whatever they could to the cause…We thought it was very successful.” Hearn concurred, “We’re so excited about how many people came and how many clubs got involved with the lanterns. We got so much help from facilities, dining, our Snowball committee, Cathy Zarrella, and all the helpers that day…Hopefully, this encourages more people to come next year and to [more] of CAB’s many fabulous events.” Suffice to say, the Masquerade Ball for Relief was colorful, dazzling, musical, delicious, entertaining, and most importantly, beneficial to those in need.