Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1506964
12 UCW SEPTEMBER 6 - 12, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Have you ever watched a regency-era film or show and thought, I would love to go to a ball like that; be a part of group dances, flirtatious fanning, fortune telling, and insidious gossip about the local social and political scene? Guests can expect all of that and more at the upcoming Lafeyette's Grand Birthday Ball and Soiree. Rebecca Russell, owner of Beespoke Vintage, is a lover of history and historical fashion. e idea of hosting a ball started out as just hosting a few sewing workshops teaching people how to make their own Regency-era clothes. e recent t.v. show, Bridgerton, along with the everlasting love of Jane Austen, has kept people's interest in fashion of the early 1800s. Russell thought, "Why not host a ball where people can wear the clothes they just learned how to make?" "e ball took on a life of its own and got bigger, well, much bigger, than the workshops. As I was researching ideas and putting the ball together, I discovered that Fayetteville had a Lafayette Society. And what do you know, there's a big bicentennial thing coming along, which I didn't even know about when I first started planning it." Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was a French aristocrat, freemason, and military officer who volunteered to join the Continental Army led by General George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. Fayetteville was the first city to be named in his honor in the United States, and the Marquis visited the town in March of 1825. e Lafayette Society promotes awareness of Lafayette's significant contributions to mankind and freedom by conducting events, programs, and educational activities. ey also host a weekend full of events in honor of Lafayette's birthday. e birthday ball will start at 7 p.m. at the Skyview on Hay Street. e First Dance Set will begin at 7:30 p.m. e second dance set will be at 8:20 p.m. Birthday toasts, followed up with cake cutting, will be at 9:15 p.m. e third dance set will be at 9:45 p.m. and the ball will start closing out around 10:30 p.m. "We'll have a dance mistress who will call those dances out to explain how they work and then we'll have the dances run. It'll be a lot of fun. A lot of [the dances] were basically equivalent to maybe the Macarena today, or the electric slide or something like that," Russell said. "Basically get everybody out on the dance floor and in a fun, social way." If dancing isn't your thing, there will also be regency-era games. "Whist was a very popular card game. It appears often in Jane Austen novels. ere will be whist playing in the back. ere will also be nine- pins, which was akin to bowling today, but just smaller little wooden pins, kind of like lawn bowling. We'll have that in the back as well for entertainment." For an extra fee, there is also a fortune teller available. Fortune telling was very popular at parties. However, this fortune teller won't be Mr. Rochester dressing up trying to understand Jane Eyre's psyche. is is an actual fortune teller who will be set up in the old bank vault inside Skyview. ere will also be an exhibit in one of the backrooms that will showcase historical clothes, educational banners and military uniforms. For Russsell, this event will also host a personal moment for her. "I'll be giving a toast to Lafayette. I will also be giving a toast to my son who turns 19 that same weekend," she said. "Lafayette was 19 when he joined our forces during the Revolutionary War. It'll be sort of a toast to the heroics and energy of youth in general. I'll be giving a toast to the military and veterans. I'm honoring Lafayette as a military veteran, but also, of course, Fayetteville." Tickets start at $95 (Gentry Level) and go up from there. Each level elevates your "social standing" and provides you with more included experiences. e Gentry ticket includes a souvenir dance card for women and a souvenir event card for men, access to the selfie garden walk and a slice of the birthday cake during the toast to Lafayette. e Baron/Baroness tickets, $145 each, includes seating at Peerage Tables, one free signature cocktail ticket, one free souvenir cockade or sandalwood fan, a tote bag, and such guests will be announced to the room upon arrival. e Royalty tickets, $275 each, include exclusive seating at the Head Table (with the hostess, the Marquis, and other Royalty), assortment of tableside snacks, one free souvenir glass of choice, two free drink tickets and one free fortune telling session. e Duke/Duchess tickets are sold out at the time of publication. Extras that can be purchased at any level are professional photography, silhouette sketching, COVER Go back in time for Regency-era ball & soiree by HANNAH LEE