For the week of February 12-18, 2003

Who are you?

Masked madness at the Masquerade Ball

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

It started with valet parking—always a nice touch on a chilly night— and proceeded to an escorted walk to the front door of the River Run Lodge where a "Phantom of the Opera" masked man formally announced each guest.

Once inside, the energy of the Company of Fools’ Masquerade Ball spread out and billowed giddily up through the festively decorated lodge.

The Fools’ Board of Directors threw the debut benefit last Saturday to take the chill out of the social life of the valley. Proceeds will help support all of the COF’s educational programming as well as "The Tempest," which opens next Wednesday. The ball tied in with the themes of magic and mystery in Shakespeare’s final play.

Not since the holidays were so many well-dressed revelers gathered together. A 15-piece band, The Riverside Orchestra, handily kept the guests dancing until the end of the party to music spanning the decades.

But who were these people? After all, the masks were done to the hilt and most people left theirs on for the duration. There were a few Italian carnival styles; others came feathered, be-winged, clownish and glamorous. An Indian headdress was spotted, a gold leaf hand held specimen appeared and one man had painted his mask on his face.

"Everyone participated in the creative aspect of it. I never saw two masks alike," a woman said later.

And then there were the outfits: Women sported styles ranging from vintage cocktail dresses to long and sleek, black and white to contemporary ball gowns, some of which were reputedly custom made, to the extremely risqué.

Towards the end of the evening the dance floor was packed with mixed gender and multiple partner dancing. And every man in a tux looked divine. One gent even donned his family tartan.

"It was a fun, fun evening, outrageous," a partygoer gushed. "The music was absolutely heavenly. You couldn’t sit still. And the decorations were beautifully done. Everybody had a fun time and we look forward to next year's soirée."

Members of the COF board, Candy Robertson Russet and Linda Lawson-Kesting, were the co-chairs of the evening.

"What blew me away was that everybody was so into the masks," an exhausted Denise Simone, artistic director of the COF, said later. "The evening was a success and it was an amazing first year. Candy and Cindy did an amazing job."

Kennedy Mortgage, First American Title and Amerititle underwrote the event. Approximately 270 people attended.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.