News Media
The Capital, Sept. 17, 2007
By Earl Kelly, Staff Writer
While not exactly a chance to party with royalty, the Queen Anne Ball scheduled for Sept. 30 in Annapolis will come mighty close. The black-tie affair (or, if you prefer, festive Colonial-era costume) will be held at Loews Annapolis Hotel. Those who sign up early (and purchase premium tickets) will also get to participate in a complimentary cocktail cruise on the bay Wednesday.
The Queen Anne Ball marks the beginning of a yearlong, citywide celebration to commemorate Queen Anne's 1708 signing of the royal charter that gave Annapolis its status as a city 300 years ago.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said the chairman of the Queen Anne Ball committee, Anna E. Greenberg. “It's 300 years. There will never be anything like this again in Annapolis - anyone who is there will know they are in a very special place, and a very special time.”
The ball, which will run 7 to 10 p.m., will feature dancing and entertainment. For the occasion, Loews will decorate its ballroom to look like a castle.
There will be a silent art auction featuring works by 40 area artists, including painters, illustrators and photographers and potters.
Before the ball begins, from 5 to 7 p.m., the public will be invited to examine the art, enjoy free champagne and, if they choose, make silent bids on the pieces of art, Mrs. Greenberg said.
Proceeds from the Queen Anne Ball will benefit Annapolis Alive!, the sponsor of various upcoming 300th anniversary events.
Admission to the ball is $150 per person, and reservations must be made by Sept. 28.
About 260 people had made reservations as of last week, organizers said, and the ballroom will accommodate about twice that number. There will be ample seating for everyone who wants to take a break from dancing and enjoy the period food that is being offered.
There are also $300 tickets available, which means the ticket holder gets to attend the ball and take a $150 tax deduction, event organizers said. For a $500 ticket, they get to attend the ball and receive a $350 tax deduction, and may go on the bay cruise. The cocktail cruise, aboard Watermark's boat the Catherine Marie, will feature music by the Wild Rovers. The cruise will depart from City Dock.
“It is going to be a fun event,” said Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, a moving force behind the Annapolis Charter 300 celebration and Annapolis Alive!
“Galas and balls and dances are part of our past,” Ms. Moyer said.
Ms. Moyer said she hasn't picked her attire yet, but is considering an historical Scottish gown to honor her ancestry.
Her special projects coordinator, Karen Engelke, is dressing to honor her own Native American heritage, dressing as a Chickasaw woman.
The ball will have all the trappings of a European ball, said Susan Steckman, spokesman for the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau, an event organizer. For example, actor Mary Ann Jung, of HistoryAliveShows.com, will portray Queen Anne.
“People who attend the ball will be treated like royalty, as town criers and herald trumpeters announce their arrival and Queen Anne welcomes them to her grand celebration,” Ms. Steckman said.
The person for whom the ball is named, Britain's Queen Anne, was born in 1665. She ascended to the throne in 1702, and ruled England, Ireland and Scotland until her death in 1714.
Her rule came just as the divine rights of kings was being questioned, and the seed of popular government was germinating. Suddenly, rulers were finding themselves challenged as never before.
During Queen Anne's reign, government expanded to include a strong Parliament, which was divided into two parties, one of which was guaranteed to oppose the crown.
Under Anne, England, Ireland and Scotland combined into a single state, Great Britain.
In 1708 Queen Anne issued the charter for Annapolis, a Protestant settlement on the Severn River that was designated the new Colonial capital, after power was stripped from the Catholics of St. Mary's City.
Queen Anne was the first British ruler of the 18th century, and the last from the House of Stuart.
She suffered from a blood disorder and had at least 14 pregnancies, but only five of the children were born alive. Of them, only one, a son, survived infancy, but he died at age 11.
She left no surviving heir, and the throne went to her second cousin, George I, a German of the House of Hanover.
