Who could ask for anything more exciting and romantic than a rendezvous on the Orient Express?
Not everyone can afford a ride on the luxurious international European train that originally traveled from Paris to Istanbul. But the next best thing to experiencing the Orient Express that now traverses parts of Europe and Asia will be the 2008 Beaux Arts Ball.
With the theme “Rendezvous on the Orient Express,” the 11th annual Beaux Arts Ball will begin at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Dodge City.
The minute you enter the hall, you will feel like you are boarding the world’s most intriguing railway service, the Orient Express.
“Guests at the ball will first check in at a train ticket booth,” said Dona Lancaster, executive director of the Carnegie Center for the Arts for the past year, who will act as master of ceremonies for the evening.
“Everyone who obtains a ‘ticket’ will be eligible to win two coach tickets on Amtrak (donated by the passenger train service) to either Chicago or Albuquerque or any destination along the route between the cities,” Dona said. “We also will have a drawing for two free tickets to next year’s ball.”
Photos of each couple attending the ball will be taken in front of a view of an Orient Express sidecar. Guests will obtain their champagne in a club car setting.
“A large map created by Darleen Clifton Smith and her art students at the Dodge City High School will show the different destinations of the Orient Express,” Dona added.
The 12-by-7-foot map includes details such as buildings, railroads and country names along one of the present-day routes of the Orient Express, this one in Europe. The train leaves London for Paris, then on to Basel, Zurich and Innsbruck, Switzerland, before switching tracks to Verona, Italy, and ending the trip in Austria, stopping in Salzburg and Vienna.
Art students Ricki Bonner and Linh Le, both 17 years old and seniors, helped design and paint the map in Smith’s drawing and painting classes.
“We are gilding the letters and the frame,” Smith said. “We will mount the frame on the wall across from the band (at the Knights of Columbus Hall).”
“It’s been an awesome project,” said Bonner as she paused from her painting. “It’s been great,” added Le. “We have had a lot of fun.”
Edna and Jim Gilman, who have served on the board for at least 15 years, are honorary chairpersons for the ball. Dave Wetmore is in charge of the planning committee for decorations, which includes Barb Duesing, Chris Stein and a multitude of other volunteers who will transform the hall.
The food served at the ball will be exotic fare one might savor on the Orient Express: beef short ribs in Madeira sauce, new potatoes, broccoli with almonds, a mixed green salad and, for dessert, hot molten chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce. Champagne will be served before dinner and wine with dinner.
Dona’s husband, Bob Lancaster, will work with Linda Ackerman “to pull the menu from the Orient Express and tailor it to western Kansas taste,” Dona said.
“Cool Blue,” the Wichita orchestra that has played for several past Beaux Arts Balls, will perform once again at the 2008 ball.
“The band tells me they are practicing the songs ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo,’ ‘Tuxedo Junction’ and ‘Pennsylvania 6-5000’ to go with our train theme,” Dona said. “Our table decorations won’t be as big and flamboyant as last year, but they will be elegant. Flowers by Irene will furnish eggplant-colored vases that will be filled with orchids for the tables at the ball.”
The first Beaux Arts Ball in Dodge City took place in 1998, and last year’s ball was attended by 165 people.
Seating for this year's event is limited, so Dona is encouraging guests to purchase their tickets early. Tickets are $60 per person, and corporations may purchase tables for eight people for $1,500. Sponsors of these tables will be recognized during the ball. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Carnegie Center for the Arts.
To obtain tickets, call Dona at (620) 225-6388 or stop by the Carnegie Center for the Arts at 701 Second Ave. in Dodge City.
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Who could ask for anything more exciting and romantic than a rendezvous on the Orient Express?
Not everyone can afford a ride on the luxurious international European train that originally traveled from Paris to Istanbul. But the next best thing to experiencing the Orient Express that now traverses parts of Europe and Asia will be the 2008 Beaux Arts Ball.
With the theme “Rendezvous on the Orient Express,” the 11th annual Beaux Arts Ball will begin at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Dodge City.
The minute you enter the hall, you will feel like you are boarding the world’s most intriguing railway service, the Orient Express.
“Guests at the ball will first check in at a train ticket booth,” said Dona Lancaster, executive director of the Carnegie Center for the Arts for the past year, who will act as master of ceremonies for the evening.
“Everyone who obtains a ‘ticket’ will be eligible to win two coach tickets on Amtrak (donated by the passenger train service) to either Chicago or Albuquerque or any destination along the route between the cities,” Dona said. “We also will have a drawing for two free tickets to next year’s ball.”
Photos of each couple attending the ball will be taken in front of a view of an Orient Express sidecar. Guests will obtain their champagne in a club car setting.
“A large map created by Darleen Clifton Smith and her art students at the Dodge City High School will show the different destinations of the Orient Express,” Dona added.
The 12-by-7-foot map includes details such as buildings, railroads and country names along one of the present-day routes of the Orient Express, this one in Europe. The train leaves London for Paris, then on to Basel, Zurich and Innsbruck, Switzerland, before switching tracks to Verona, Italy, and ending the trip in Austria, stopping in Salzburg and Vienna.
Art students Ricki Bonner and Linh Le, both 17 years old and seniors, helped design and paint the map in Smith’s drawing and painting classes.
“We are gilding the letters and the frame,” Smith said. “We will mount the frame on the wall across from the band (at the Knights of Columbus Hall).”
“It’s been an awesome project,” said Bonner as she paused from her painting. “It’s been great,” added Le. “We have had a lot of fun.”
Edna and Jim Gilman, who have served on the board for at least 15 years, are honorary chairpersons for the ball. Dave Wetmore is in charge of the planning committee for decorations, which includes Barb Duesing, Chris Stein and a multitude of other volunteers who will transform the hall.
The food served at the ball will be exotic fare one might savor on the Orient Express: beef short ribs in Madeira sauce, new potatoes, broccoli with almonds, a mixed green salad and, for dessert, hot molten chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce. Champagne will be served before dinner and wine with dinner.
Dona’s husband, Bob Lancaster, will work with Linda Ackerman “to pull the menu from the Orient Express and tailor it to western Kansas taste,” Dona said.
“Cool Blue,” the Wichita orchestra that has played for several past Beaux Arts Balls, will perform once again at the 2008 ball.
“The band tells me they are practicing the songs ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo,’ ‘Tuxedo Junction’ and ‘Pennsylvania 6-5000’ to go with our train theme,” Dona said. “Our table decorations won’t be as big and flamboyant as last year, but they will be elegant. Flowers by Irene will furnish eggplant-colored vases that will be filled with orchids for the tables at the ball.”
The first Beaux Arts Ball in Dodge City took place in 1998, and last year’s ball was attended by 165 people.
Seating for this year's event is limited, so Dona is encouraging guests to purchase their tickets early. Tickets are $60 per person, and corporations may purchase tables for eight people for $1,500. Sponsors of these tables will be recognized during the ball. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Carnegie Center for the Arts.
To obtain tickets, call Dona at (620) 225-6388 or stop by the Carnegie Center for the Arts at 701 Second Ave. in Dodge City.
