The Lafayette Ball is Coming!
Tickets for the November event go on sale next weekend, and a number of other Lafayette-themed events are coming up.
By Craig Vasey
CONTRIBUTOR
Two hundred years ago, General Lafayette visited Fredericksburg for two days during his return visit, thirty years after he had last seen America. The special friendship he had cultivated with George Washington decades before was the connection to our city.Â
Among other events, a ball was held in his honor in November of 1824. This year the Fredericksburg-Fréjus Sister City Association is holding The Lafayette Ball on November 23 as part of the Lafayette Commemoration Weekend.
The ball will feature a renowned Lafayette interpreter, Regency period music researched and performed by an ensemble of music historians and performers (Music of the Regiment), a dance caller leading the dances, and guests in Regency period dress (especially from the Regency Society of Virginia and the Rappahannock Colonial Heritage Society—who are also offering free dance lessons between now and then).Â
The event will be catered, with a cash bar, and souvenirs of Lafayette will be on sale. The ball is already attracting attention from history buffs and Regency period fans from neighboring states and promises to be quite an event.
Tickets for The Lafayette Ball will go on sale on September 6, Lafayette’s 267th birthday, during the Fredericksburg-Fréjus Sister City Association’s fundraiser birthday party at the Fredericksburg Area Museum, from 5 to 7 p.m. Admission to this party is $50 per person, and tickets can be purchased at www.fredericksburgfrejus.com.Â
There will be door prizes, hors d’oeuvres, a visit from General Lafayette, and souvenirs for sale.
Tickets to The Lafayette Ball will then be available at the FSCA website starting September 7. Questions may be addressed to fsca1980@gmail.com
The ball is just one of four major events taking place during the weekend of November 23-24 to commemorate Lafayette’s visit: a welcome at Market Square and the Old Town Hall (where Lafayette received the greetings of the city), a visit to the Masonic Lodge, and a service at St. George’s. More information is available at www.fxbg.com/lafayette.
The Commemoration Weekend's events are based on the account published in The Virginia Herald in 1824.Â
They are free and open to the public, with the exception of the ball, which will be a ticketed event at $65 per person. For FSCA, the ball is an opportunity to raise funds for our student exchange programs.
Craig Vasey is the president of the Fredericksburg-Fréjus Sister City Association and a member of the FXBG Advance board.
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