St. Cloud Holly Ball

Yesterday I turned 33 years old.  Ooofda, I am getting up there.  I had a great birthday.  Alison and I met up with Newman and Mollie at the Veranda Lounge for a drink then headed to Holly Ball.

hollyball

This was our first time going to the Holly Ball.  I really didn’t know what to expect.  All I knew was this was the towns event of the year and I bought a 3 piece suit for it.  Alison also bought a beautiful dress for it.  We had tickets for the appetizers and dance portion of the event.  From what I hear the dinner is pretty amazing, but we weren’t up for spending that much. We showed up at about 8:00.  It seemed many people were leaving when we were getting there apparently only there for the dinner.

We checked the coats in and headed into the event.  I was pretty hungry since I hadn’t ate any dinner.  From what I heard there appis were awesome and enough there to make a meal out of it.  We went in bought a drink and found some food.  They had a very small slice of prime rib you could get, bread, shrimp, and then they had a veggie/potato martini bar.  I came to found out you were suppose to get your veggies or potatoes in a martini glass.  I was given a bit of an odd look when I told them to just throw them on my plate with the prime rib and bread.  Whoops. :)  

The civic center was really decorated nicely.  You would have never guessed you were at the civic center.  It must have taken them a long time to do all the decorating.

I felt a bit out of my element at first, but it got better.  We ran into a few friends and Alison ran into some colleagues of hers.  Newman and Mollie then showed up.  I like it better when we had another couple to hang out with.  We socialized and ate for quite a while. 

One thing I like was they had two bands so when one wasn’t playing the other one was.  There was never a break in the music which I thought was great.  Both bands were really great.  Later in the evening we migrated to the dance floor to have a little fun.  Great music and good times on the dance floor made for a great end of the night.  They ended up playing until about 12:30.

It was a great night with fun to be had by all that attended.  Alison and I hope to go back next year.

Congrats to Newman and Mollie.  He popped the question last night and she said YES. Stretch made sure to raise a toast in honor of them at the end of the night.

4 Responses to “St. Cloud Holly Ball”

  • Sarah Liveringhouse says:

    Hi Joel!

    Happy Birthday!! This is Sarah Liveringhouse, Vice-Chair of Holly Ball 2009. Congrats to your Newman and Mollie. I was standing right next to them when Stretch introduced them on the dance floor.

    Please let me know if you have any suggestions to improve Holly Ball for 2010. We would love you and Allison to continue to attend! Glad you made it to your first Holly Ball!

    -Sarah

  • Bob Newman says:

    Was this party fancier or classier than the “After Earth Day Half Marathon Parties” you guys host every year? (At your parties I’ve seen you drink and eat stuff out of all sorts of questionable containers…)

  • Joel says:

    Sarah, Alison and I really had a great time. We will surely be back next year. We also hope to recruit a few more couples.

    Bob, I am not sure if any party can hold a candle to our After Earth Day Half Marathon parties! :)

  • Ryan says:

    Thanks Joel. Mollie and I had a great night too and I agree the 1/2 marathon party is better!!!

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