Christmas ball preview

You saw the queue that stretched from the doors of the Union to past Hope Street. You heard many a person lament about how 400 tickets sold out online in what seemed like seconds. Maybe you were one of the students who started queuing at 6:00 a.m. and grabbed one of the most sought-after ball tickets of the semester. You’ve smelled the desperation in the air every time a pleading Facebook post goes up … because it seems like every student in St Andrews wanted one thing this winter – to go to the Mermaid’s Christmas Ball.

The Stand sat down with fourth year English and Comparative Literature student Lottie Barker, who is this years Christmas Ball convenor, as well as Mermaids president Ben Anderson, a fourth year English and Art History student, to discuss this semester’s most popular event: Christmas Ball.

The Stand: What is different about this year’s Christmas Ball from Christmas Ball last year?

Lottie Barker: First of all, we’ve increased the capacity. 200 extra tickets have been sold, and this means that we have an extra area for ball attendees to visit. There’s the marquee, as well as the main space. There’s different music, a very different vibe this year –

Ben Anderson: The marquee’s not a separate space though –

LB: No, it’s still attached – you won’t have to freeze by walking outside! There’s going to be less queuing for the bars, and more variation of music.

The Stand: So the ball is still held in Kinkell Byre?

BA: Yes. It’s been held there since Christmas Ball started about 11 years ago. It’s always been in Kinkell, but I think that we pride ourselves in doing Kinkell differently. It’s always Christmas, always slightly Christmas-y themed, but with a twist. This year it is sort of a Narnian twist, last year it was Willy Wonka.

The Stand: So can we expect that Kinkell will be transformed into a sort of Narnia?

LB: Yes, definitely. We’ve got lots of stuff planned – we have a snowflake-themed section, lots of decorations that have to do with the woods in the Narnia books, large props to have photos taken. Definitely for me, the visual aspect of Christmas Ball is one of the most exciting things about it.

The Stand: What do you think makes Christmas Ball so popular? As we saw with ticket sales last week, there was a queue out past Hope Street before the Union doors even opened! People were queuing since 6 a.m.!

BA: Wow, yeah – a big thank you to everyone who did that! That’s real dedication.

LB: We’re really happy. I think part of it is that its at the end of semester, it’s after deadlines but before exams so it’s the last chance to sort of celebrate with your friends while they are all still here. It really is the biggest event at the end of the year.

BA: There’s a nice sort of built-in community around theatre and Mermaids as well, not just in the people buying tickets but those that help us in bringing the event together. There’s a really good supporting network of people who encourage others to come.

The Stand: Will the proceeds be benefitting a certain charity?

BA: Well, Mermaids itself is the beneficiary, but we take all of the profits from the ball and reinvest it in our Edinburgh Fringe projects. Last year we took four fully-funded and two partially-funded shows – all assisted by us – to the Fringe. We normally spend money on the logistics of transportation, funding accommodation of our Fringe rep so they can help out shows, and the rest of the money goes directly to funding student shows – venues, props, sets – all of the costs associated with running a show. It is hugely expensive. All Edinburgh Fringe shows are expected to make a loss, so this is a subsidy to that.

The Stand: So as the resident experts on Christmas and holiday festivities, do you have any tips for students to make the holidays more festive during exam season?

LB: Come to Christmas Ball! I feel like in St Andrews, Christmas does really start a little earlier because of those pesky exams that start sooner than you think, and then you don’t really get to celebrate Christmas with your friends. My recommendation would be to plan a Christmas dinner now, try and get all of your friends together, before everyone has exams and then heads home.

The Stand: November is one of the biggest months for balls. You’ve got Reeling Ball, Welly Ball, Christmas Ball, and St Andrews Ball, just to name a few. How do you feel facing the competition? Do you feel like last years 600th Ball had an effect on Christmas Ball?

LB: No, I mean we still sold out last year. We still sold out this year. I think that each of the balls has got their own distinctive factor – there’s not really any overlap between what people are trying to sell. Also, it’s the end of the year – it is pretty much the only time that people would be willing to go to two balls in one weekend. Also, lots of the Fellowship committee are involved with Mermaids, lots of Mermaids are involved with Fellowship –

The Stand: — So it’s not the “Battle of the Balls” that some perceive it to be?

BA: No, not at all!

LB: Completely not. Everyone just wants each other to do well, and it’s all just about having fun.

The Stand: How should guests dress up to the theme of “100 Years of Deep Winter”? Should we leave our fur stoles in the wardrobe?

BA: Christmas Ball has always been a black tie event. That won’t change this year, though that’s not to say that people aren’t encouraged to add a little Narnian or Christmas twist to their costume. We’re not against self-expression – we’re a performing arts fund! But no lion onesies, please.

LB: Yes, still black tie, but with a Narnian twist. I think it’s a good time to go all-out with the sequins and the glitter. It’s Christmas, and we’re Performing Arts – go for it!

The Stand: So tell me how you are going to make the ball more Christmas-themed than associated with “deep winter” and the frigid Arctic freeze that St Andrews is heading for.

LB: Santa’s Grotto is a warm area of the ball, so there will be opportunities to have your photos taken in a sleigh, with Santa.

BA: As soon as you arrive, you’re going to be hit by the Alleycats performing, you’ll be given Turkish Delight and champagne. It’s a way of immediately giving a warm inclusive vibe to the ball, rather than just throwing you into Narnia.

The Stand: Here’s a serious question: what exactly is Turkish Delight?

BA: Oh God people keep asking us this question and it’s so difficult to answer! I think we went for a rose-water flavoured jelly candy. If that sounds disgusting … it’s really not. If it was good enough to make Edmund sell out his family, it must be pretty good!

LB: But if that’s not for you, we’ll also have cupcakes, stalls for Fine Food and Dining Society, Butler’s Wraps …

BA: And we’ll have Christmas-themed cocktails at the bars, which is nice.

The Stand: So tell us – how fast did tickets actually sell out this year?

BA: Online ticket sales went very well – we were really happy. They were all in baskets within a minute, and we had processed all of the sales by 8 minutes past.

LB: At the ticket sales at the Union, we were selling another 1,200 tickets. We officially sold out in 1 hour and 13 minutes! I’m so sorry to everyone that didn’t get a ticket – watch Facebook for resales! This is the fastest we have sold out in Christmas Ball history.

Image courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christmas_Decor_at_The_Four_Seasons_George_V.jpg