Hamilton Party becomes City Attraction
The Annual Great Race's Masquerade Ball is set to break more than just attendance records on September 10 this year. It has also broken some out of town perceptions, about Hamilton as a social centre.
Organisers of the King Street Great Race Ball have been pleasantly surprised with the level of enquiry and purchases from out of towners, for what has fast become the social event of the year for Hamilton City.
Mark Ingle, Director of the Great Race event predicts out of town visitors will account for 30% of all tickets sales, based on sales and enquiries to date.
2005 is the third running of the Ball and this year we are on target to sell out, with 1,500 people expected to attend.
So why is The Ball such an attraction and who is attending?
"Uniqueness, quality and a passion to party", says Ingle
'The King Street Great Race Ball delivers quality at every turn. The Ball is the celebration component of the Gallagher Great Race, one of Hamilton's icon events. It is held at the University of Waikato's world class venue, The WEL Energy Trust Academy of Performing Arts. The promotion of the event is second to none (when did you last see a party advertised on TV!). And then there is the entertainment experience from 130 performers across 7 lavishly themed areas, catering for tastes from the ball room or disco dancer, to the bar dweller.'
'That seems a pretty simple formula don't you think!'
Last year, one special guest compared it to the million-dollar Louis-Vuitton party after the Americas Cup and Bryan Gould (retired University of Waikato Vice Chancellor) rated it above Royal occasions he had attended.
The cross section of people who attend The Ball is vast, says Ingle.
'There's no structure like the traditional ball with seated meals and brass bands, and people seem to love that. It has such a diversity of entertainment The ball goers can dance the night away, or park themselves in one of the four bars, or sit and be entertained with a variety of stage shows. We give you 5 or 6 choices of things to do at any one time and that appeals to a wide range of people'.
The involvement of King Street Advertising has seen a change to the theming of the rooms, with entertainment in each room based on famous streets of the world.
O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland. Guests will be treated to the sounds and tastes of Ireland with Irish Jamming and Jigs with a spot of Guinness thrown in for good measure.
Amadeus Strata, Venice. Dancing under Venetian stars in one of the most romantic settings of the night. Guests will be surrounded with the image of Venice as arm in arm the dancing begins.
Southbeach Highway, Miami. Its time to remember way back when. The sounds of Miami "get up on the floor, and lets dance" Palm trees and night clubs. Its the Retro Capital of the world.
Shinjuku-dori Avenue, Tokyo. Step into the, oh so cool, Tokyo neon central. The hot Ghetto Acid Techno club with Digital Primate will shake this place, like no-one has before.
42nd Street, New York, will be the best cocktail Piano Bar this side of Broadway. Fabulous music to sit and enjoy a quite moment with friends.
And not forgetting King Street Junction which is the hub of the King Street Great Race Ball. Not only does everything access off KING STREET but it is the coming together of the meeting, eating, drinking and dancing creating a wonderful energy.
King St CEO, Chris Williams, said he was not surprised about the level of interest from out of town. "This is a truly world-class event and it will only grow in stature. We feel privileged to be involved and personally I can't wait to part of the biggest party of the year!"
Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $150 each. Ticket price includes all entertainment, and the unlimited supply of superb international cuisine, beer, wine and fruit juice. Tickets are available online by visiting www.theball.co.nz or call the Ticket Direct office on 0800 38 35 200.