“Oh, I know,” said Bilja enthusiastically, “We could host a ball!”
“What kind of a ball are we talking about?” asked Vera, but a smile already broke out and she looked like a gamer in a computer store.
“Masquerade ball!” Bilja exclaimed, and we all started to throw “Uuuuhs”, “Aaaahs”, and an occasional “Yaaaaas”. We murmured on and on, started throwing wild ideas Tim Burton would be jealous of, but then Nata cleared her throat, with a rather loud “khm khm”, that simply demanded attention. We all looked at her like scolded children and/or puppies who knew something was wrong but couldn’t quite put their finger/paw on it.
“Do we have any proper costumes?” she asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.
“Well….”
“Sigh…. I’ll get my sketchbook…”

***
That is how that meeting went, and the idea was born. A phantom-of-the-opera-themed ball, where the only prerequisite is to hide your face behind a mask, and maybe, just maybe, be free to be who you really are, or simply who you want to be. That’s the true power of masks. They aren’t there to hide you, they are there to liberate you, to let you be your true self.


So, there I was, at T-30 days until the ball, and we needed it all – the costumes, the masks and the decorations. And we had nothing of it. It would suffice to say that at the end of that run, I could have easily applied to be an extra for the “Walking Dead” and would have passed that audition with flying colors, no make-up needed. Luckily, we wore masks so my black circles were well hidden. The aftermath: 5 dresses, 11 masks, decorations…



Sure, the complete Evenstar team ended up fitted in costumes and yeah, we loved every second of it. We are just like children, we love to play dress-up and act the part. But to me, and to us all, the fact that so many people came already prepared, wearing full costumes, masks and make-up, well that was the true highlight of the evening. Everybody tried so hard, put time and effort and they succeeded magnificently. We were all warped to another time, to another society, and we all had fun. All those sleepless nights were worth it, especially when we afterwards received praises and were asked: “Soo...when’s the next one?”
Well, 5 months later, we gave in and we hosted another masquerade ball. This one was, bigger, grander, and more ball-er. Every girl was the Bell of the Ball, and again we witnessed (WITNESSSS!) the desire, the need for connecting cosplayers, costume-lovers, actors, or simply people who want to try something new and get out of the rut. We served Casanova cocktail and Damsel in Distress shooters, prepared themed dance choreographies, and of course, even more costumes and masks.

With a perfect blend of music repertoire, treasure hunt and mystery quest, masked faces and unmasked inhibitions, this will surely become one of our signature parties where fun is mandatory.