Hollywood glamour for masquerade ball
Hamilton is abuzz with the anticipation of tonight's masquerade ball as the city gears up for what's highly regarded in the Waikato as the social event of the year. Natalie Akoorie reports.Classic "Hollywood glam" is the look for tonight's Great Race masquerade ball - Waikato's premier social event of the year.
About 2000 people are going to the black-tie event following today's Great Race between Waikato and Harvard University boat crews on the Waikato River.
Hamilton designer and womenswear boutique Thistle Fashions owner Nedra Pickering said the look this year was red carpet glam and sleek. She and a friend are dressing as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.
"Most of the women are going for full-length. We've had a whole range of colours go," she said.
At Rodney Wayne Hairdressing in Chartwell, manager Kate Cox said they and the Centre Place hair salon were almost solidly booked.
The look this year was "classic".
"Nothing spiky or avant garde. It's really classic French rolls and curls pinned to the side."
She said one regular ball-goer had booked her hair appointment in April.
At Hamilton mask shop Marguerites there's a myriad styles, from peacock feathers, sequins and glitter to authentic Venetian and papier-mache masks.
Owner Julie Carson-Enright said men were not nearly as conservative as their wives expected them to be, often returning a mask bought by a partner and trading it for something more flamboyant.
"One of them picked a mask that's 3ft (90cm) tall. It's a face with ostrich features."
While many of her masks are copies of those found in Venice they are not as expensive, though most are hand-painted and made out of papier-mache in the traditional Venetian style.
"I import a lot from New Orleans, the mardi gras capital of the world," Mrs Carson-Enright said.
But it's not cheap to go to the ball - a rough survey by the Waikato Times revealed it could cost about $2000 for a couple. However, one of the event organisers, Matt Taylor of Boathouse Events, said the ball promised to be better than ever.
"That's been reflected in how we've gone about decorating the rooms and the attention to detail."
Mr Taylor said through this year's theme, `Ballrooms of the World', organisers aim to enhance the experience with seven separately-themed rooms.
Among the great ballrooms will be the Russian Gypsy Tea Room, a New York-styled Electric Ballroom and a London-themed Ballroom Blitz.
There will be 15 live acts and 80 performers including bands, DJs, iconic Kiwi singer Rikki Morris, latin dancers and comedy.
Canapes will replace dinner on the menu and specially imported boutique beers Zipher from Holland and Kaiser from Germany will make up some of the fare. Montana wines also feature.
One thing the 8.30pm to 3am ball has not allowed for is coverage of the first All Black Rugby World Cup game against Italy which starts around midnight.
Mr Taylor said it was a conscious decision to exclude the match from the ball, which is being held at the WEL Energy Trust Academy of Performing Arts at Waikato University.
Meanwhile, the two Harvard rowers who appealed through the Waikato Times for dates to the ball have chosen Hamilton 18-year-old friends Katie Hennebry and Christina Hawes.