CAB to host Masquerade Charity Ball at Mattress Factory museum

Of all the art galleries in Pittsburgh, Chelsea Behanna views one as particularly special.

"The Mattress Factory is one of those places you just have to go to," said Behanna, Campus Activity Board student director.

While searching for a venue for CAB's annual charity ball, Behanna kept that thought in mind.

CAB's Masquerade Charity Ball will be held at the Mattress Factory on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Behanna, a sophomore public relations and broadcast major, feels the atmosphere of this unconventional dance location will be exciting for students.

In previous years, the ball was held at venues including the Gateway Clipper and the Andy Warhol Museum. CAB decided last year to make the change from having the event on the Gateway Clipper, as it had been for years, to the more modern Andy Warhol Museum.

Behanna said there was higher attendance at last year's ball than in previous years. With the success of the dance at the Warhol, CAB members agreed to change the location again this year to another attention-grabbing venue.

Erin Druga, a junior public relations major and CAB's events coordinator, noted that the rise in attendance has brought change to how CAB wants to approach this event.

"We are going to try to pick a different location each year now," Druga said in an interview last Tuesday in the Student and Convocation Center.

Aside from the location, CAB is implementing a few other changes with this year's event.  The ball has a masquerade theme for the first time in its history: a masquerade theme. The style of dress is semi-formal as it has been in the past, but students are encouraged to wear masquerade masks as well.  However, if students do not bring their own masks, supplies to create their own at the dance will be provided.

Along with the new theme, Druga said the Charity Ball is also unique.

"This is Point Park's dance. We share the Halloween dance with the Art Institute, but this is the one we can call our own," Druga said.

The Charity Ball is also different from the Halloween dance because it raises money for a cause. All of the proceeds of the ball this year are being donated in honor of Jacob Dannels, a senior musical theater major that died in November due to lymphoblastic leukemia. The proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Pittsburgh.

In previous years, the proceeds were donated to the Humane Society. Sarah Cunningham, a freshman public relations major and CAB's committee chair for the ball, feels that students will react differently to the change in where the money will be donated.

"This cause is closer to us," Cunningham said last Tuesday at the Student and Convocation Center.

There will be a DJ for the night to create a club-like atmosphere, along with a photobooth and buffets from Pittsburgh Candy Buffet. All students are welcome to attend and bring guests.

Tickets can be purchased starting Jan. 23in the Student Activities Office. One ticket costs $15, two cost $25, and if students purchase them in a group of three or more, they cost $10 per person.

If students cannot make it to the Student Activities Office to buy tickets in advance, they can be purchased at the door the night of the event with valid identification or student ID.