Annual Victoria Masquerade Ball Raises Money for Children with AIDS
The annual Victoria Masquerade Ball will be held beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 27th, at the Fairmont Empress Hotel downtown. This colourful annual event is a fundraiser with proceeds being donated to UNICEF BC and directed towards the Unite For Children, Unite Against Aids campaign. a global effort to alert the world to the fact that children are missing from the global AIDS agenda.
The special guest speaker will Nigel Fisher, president & CEO of UNICEF Canada. He will speak on the urgent need for sustained programs, advocacy and fundraising to limit the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and help halt the spread of the disease.
Masks are required for the ball, with a limited quantity for sale at the door. Prizes are given away for Best Male Mask, Best Female Mask and Best Couple.
First noted in Italy during the 15th century Renaissance, masquerade balls were costumed public festivities that were particularly popular in Venice. They were generally elaborate dances held for members of the upper classes, and have been associated with the tradition of the Venetian Carnival.
Masquerade balls became common throughout mainland Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A Swiss count is credited with having introduced the Venetian fashion of a semi-public masquerade ball to London in the eighteenth century, with the first being held at Haymarket Opera House. Throughout the century the dances became popular, both in England and then Colonial America.
Its prominence did not go unchallenged; a significant anti-masquerade movement grew alongside the balls themselves. The anti-masquerade writers stated the events encouraged immorality and “foreign influence”. While the writers were sometimes able to persuade authorities toward their views, enforcement of measures designed to end masquerades were not successful.
Tickets for the ball ($95 per person) as well as colourful period costumes and masks can be purchased at Surroundings, 249 Cook Street. You can also rent a costume at Charlotte Rennison’s costume rental company.
