NEWBURYPORT — The city’s newest men’s club will be mixing the mystery of masquerade with New Orleans jazz, all while dressing to the nines, when the Wolfe Club of Newburyport presents a black tie masquerade ball at Mission Oak Grille’s Steeple Hall on Saturday.
The Wolfe Club is a nonprofit, social and charitable men’s organization formed last year by its president, Michael Switzer.
Switzer said the club helps other worthy organizations such as Newburyport Youth Services and Our Neighbors’ Table by throwing fun, fundraising events.
The Wolfe Club raised $4,500 for Newburyport Youth Services during its first Octoberfest at Newburyport Brewing Company last fall and received inspiration from the city’s Mardi Gras masquerade balls of the mid-1980s to plan its first Wolfe Club Ball for this weekend. The proceeds will benefit Our Neighbors’ Table.
“We’ve always wanted to re-create that and this is kind of our homage to it,” Switzer said. “There are plenty of Mardi Gras parties and they’re a wild people there throwing around beads and there are a lot of dress-up galas. But, by putting it all together, we will be creating a very unique, fun event that nobody else is doing.”
He said his men’s club chose Our Neighbors’ Table, which works to alleviate food insecurity in the region, to receive the proceeds from the ball because the nonprofit organization sees “incredible results.”
“We helped out local youth with Newburyport Youth Services last fall and that is something that ties in well with what Our Neighbors’ Table does with food insecurity. They provide food security for families and that’s helping the children in those households, too,” he said.
Jazz and blues band Annie and the Fur Trappers will bring their St Louis sound to The Wolfe Club Ball, with ambience and décor provided by film industry veterans Chris Sawtelle and Deb Kehs.
“Chris has a real eye for this kind of stuff,” Switzer said. “He knows how to throw a party and will be able to make our Mardi Gras ball as authentic as he can.”
Sawtelle said he and fellow set dresser Kehs have been given full access to the warehouse of Medford-based event planning and design company Art of the Event Inc. to help make the ball a special event.
“They do décor for just about every kind of event, from small baby showers to high-end Christmas parties for banks and companies and have designers, painters and artists who can make anything look wonderful,” he said.
Sawtelle said he intends to bring plenty of color to Steeple Hall this weekend.
“I want to emulate the Mardi Gras parties of days past. Think the black tie events of the 1920s and 1930s with lots of color and lots of lights,” he said.
The Mardi Gras masquerades of the 1980s were well known for the Herb Fox posters used to promote the events. Local artist Alan Bull was tapped to create a poster to promote The Wolfe Club Ball.
Prints of the Bull poster can be seen displayed at downtown businesses such as Leary’s Fine Wines & Spirits, Simply Sweet and the Inn Street Barbershop. Bull’s original artwork will be auctioned live during the ball.
Tickets are $75 per person and can be found at www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/55579f76-3106-4bad-a27e-409b36d2daf4.
The Wolfe Club has made 200 ball tickets available and more than 115 seats were sold by Monday morning, according to Switzer, who added that the club is planning its first golf tournament in June.
“We want to make a splash with the ball and then improve on that every year,” he said. “We’re off to a great start so far and we just want to make everything a little bit better every year.”
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.