It's been a formal ball, a beach-themed ball, a Roaring '20s party and a 1950s sock hop. This year, the Arts Center of the Ozarks ball and auction -- the oldest in Northwest Arkansas -- will be something completely different.
"One Night Only," set for Feb. 28, pays homage to the variety of programming hosted by the 48-year-old arts center, its position as an anchor of the revitalization of downtown Springdale and its unique mix of patrons of all ages, says Kathi Blundell, ACO managing director.
FAQ
One Night Only
WHEN — 7-11 p.m. Feb. 28
WHERE — Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S. Main St. in Springdale
COST – $120; tickets are on sale now
INFO — 751-5441
"With all the attention focused on downtown Springdale, with the revival happening downtown, our board wanted to bring the ball home to our facility," Blundell says. "So that's where it started."
Without a football field-sized convention center, the party has been reshaped to fit the arts center, with activities planned throughout the galleries and the performance hall.
"It will be more intimate, more clublike," Blundell says, with music, food and shopping happening in multiple locations. The ever-popular silent auction won't lose any of its lustre or size, but it will be spread out into every possible nook and cranny, giving shoppers opportunities to mingle, too.
"There will even be quiet spots to chat," Blundell promises.
Music ranges from 1930s and '40s nightclub style tunes presented by Betsy Crouch Jilka, Kara Story and pianist Jonathan Story to gypsy jazz by Unzaa to indie rock by brothers Randall and Benjamin Shreve to a little burlesque from a Eureka Springs troupe.
"Violetta Lotus Burlesque is classy and sassy, known for their variety of circus sideshow acts from fire-dancing and hooping to magic and more," Blundell says.
Now that's something completely different! And so is the food, "gourmet hors d'oeuvres created by Chef Jerrmy Gawthrop and The Greenhouse Grille," Blundell describes. There will be cash bars, a "Vino Raffl-ino" featuring gourmet wines on a special raffle and a chance to win unique silent auction offerings like the advertising wrap on an Ozark Regional Transit bus for a year.
The words "unique," "unusual," "different" and "whirlwind" are often used describing the evening, Blundell muses.
"For one night only, we're going to turn this place into something magical."
-- Becca Martin-Brown
NAN What's Up on 01/16/2015