The New Diva in Town: 600th Anniversary Ball

A particularly special ball is rolling into town for one night only. The Stand caught up with Pat Mathewson and Tiffany Yates of the Fellowship of St Andrews, to talk ball rivalry and town/gown relationships.

Firstly, the all-important dates.

The Ball itself is happening on the 30^th of November, and we’ll be firing up with a launch party on the 18^th of October. We’re really excited about both of them!

30^th of November – the same weekend as the Mermaid’s Christmas Ball?

Yes it is, which would explain their cover photo!

The Stand did notice their brand new slogan, ‘There’s Only One Ball This Christmas’…not a coincidence?

We’re looking at options to try accommodate everyone. David Patterson (Mermaids President) is also a Fellow, so we think we’ve got a good relationship. We’re doing everything we can to make sure both events are very successful.

Good luck with that one, we’re looking forward to seeing your rebuttal cover photo… Are we talking another Kinkell arrangement?

The venue for the Ball will be Lower College Lawn, with the Other Guys kicking us off and more bands to be confirmed. We’ve had interest from DJs as far afield as Amsterdam, but this is also just one component of a full day of events! We’ve been working together with lots of people in the town as well as the University to bring together something for the end of the 600^th (finally). We’re calling it ‘The 600^thFinale’.

Amazing! What else are we going to be seeing on the day?

The St Andrews Food Festival will be taking place in the town hall, run by a fantastic lady named Vivian Collie who does it every year. It’s a month long series of events which culminates on that weekend, so she’s kindly tying it in to kick us off! There will also be a church service, and the town lighting ceremony. If you’ve ever been wandering in November you may have seen a mass parade of people heading to the Town Hall – it’s usually a little anticlimactic, but this year we’re going to try and get some major landmarks lit, like the cathedral and the stained glass throughout town.

When you say ‘light’…?

No, not on fire! It’s just a matter of flipping a switch.

Ah. Anti-climatic indeed!

That crowd usually draws around 1500 people, who will then process around past the Cathedral and into Sallies Quad for a ceilidh and festival!

On the grass??

Yup! The food and drink will be laid out on the lawn, the University have been really great and very keen to include the local community.

What kind of food are we talking?

There will be fry ups, farmers’ market food, hopefully some real Scottish fayre and some ‘fairground’ food. Eden Brewery are also doing a special brew for us! A 5% honey toned fife jet fuel.

And the Ceilidh?

This will be on the paths around the Quad, with band Dancing Feet who specialize in teaching beginners, so it’s geared to first timers.

Speaking of the local community, the last few weeks have apparently been the worst in Town and Gown history for noise complaints and police visits. How is this event working out in this environment? 

One of the Event Directors is Henry Paul over at the community council, and this event has been geared towards the town as a whole from the start. It’s just a matter of getting everyone involved – noise doesn’t matter if everyone’s welcome!

The whole shebang sounds fantastic.

We really think you’ll be getting a lot for your money. This is a unique, once in a lifetime event, and everyone is invited.

On the 30^th of November the Celidh will begin at 6pm – 7.30pm, free for everyone to attend. Check the event page for details of ball tickets for sale, which will be around £30, 9pm – 2.30am.