Celebrate the roaring ’20s at the annual Masquerade Ball

by Christian Phillips

SCAD is welcoming back a glamorous era for the 2019 Masquerade Ball, “A Centennial Soiree,” Oct. 19 at the SCAD Museum of Art in the Alex Townsend Memorial Courtyard from 8 p.m.-12 a.m. As the date draws closer, Director Emily Dillard and the Student Activities Council [SAC] begin preparations for this old Hollywood meets Gatsby inspired ball.

With music, clubs, costume contests, performances and food this immersive soirée will be a roaring good time.“You can expect some wonderful performers. We have a couple of people who are returners and a couple of new folks as well, they are going to be doing this wonderful mash of today’s music and entertainment mixed with the best of the 1920s,” Dillard said. “I can’t say for sure but there will most likely be some drag performances and some classic Frank Sinatra. We are really mixing today and yesterday in this 100-year celebration. We are also having food trucks that accept meal plans and have 1920s themed food.”

Dillard’s anticipation for the event is building, “I’m excited to see happy students and students having a good time because when that happens, it doesn’t matter how many hours you got there before or how many hours you stayed later,” Dillard said. “There’s just something so satisfying about being the incoming president and seeing all your hard work pay off. Truly all it takes is a smile, a laugh, someone leaving with new friends to know that it paid off.”

With organizing a grand event there are bound to be ups and downs. “There is some construction at the MOA this year and it will not be done in time for the Masquerade Ball, but it will be done in time for Film Festival. We’ll be losing a large area which we originally designated to clubs. So we had two options, we either cap the attendance at a lower number than normal or not have as many clubs. Unfortunately this year we are only accepting four clubs,” Dillard said. Despite the lack of space, SAC is making the most of it and fully embracing SNUG, Swing Dance and Scripted as a part of their club line up. Dillard continued by commenting on her amazing team and their ability to overcome this roadblock, “the team that’s working on this is fantastic. Of the SAC members, there are six coordinators and every single one of them brings their own sass and spice and everything nice to the table. We meet once a week and plan out everything.”

Like every great event, the ball cannot run solely on the will power and effort of Dillard and her amazing team. So one way to make the event run more smoothly is through SAC volunteers. Volunteer opportunities are broken up into three shifts pre-ball, during ball and post-ball. Pre-ball consists of setting up, mounting installations and centerpieces. During ball happens in hour to hour shifts which are flexible. Volunteers are encouraged to dress up as they swipe IDs and answer questions.

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Post-ball participants help tear down and clean everything. Although it may not sound like fun, those who volunteer for post-ball are receiving midnight donuts. “Volunteering is the best way if you ever want to be a part of SAC or be in a paid coordinator position. We need you to volunteer first to see if its the right fit for you and if you’re the right fit for us as well,” Dillard said. “For me its been the most rewarding job ever. This is by far so much more than a paycheck, it’s truly a place that I go to feel at home here at SCAD.”

Aside from the Masquerade Ball, SAC volunteers benefit all year long. “Another reason to volunteer is you get the inside scoop on everything. You have so much more information and you get to know what’s happening all the time,” Dillard said. “You get to meet a lot of people who are very influential at SCAD. The last reason you should volunteer is you get a meal coupon if you work a certain number of hours.”

To get involved, their next meeting will take place Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. in the student center. For more information about the Masquerade Ball or to sign up to volunteer visit SAC’s Facebook, Instagram and blog.