Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity members celebrate at the 2003 Charter Day Ball. The Bicentennial Ball will be held Feb. 21, 2009.
It still may be a year away, but Program Board is hosting a kickoff event for what they believe will be the biggest Charter Day Ball in Miami University's history.
Thursday at the Hub, T-shirts (with the slogan, "Get ready to party like it's 1809") and cookies will be passed out-all hoping to rev up the student body for next year's event.
"We are kicking off a series of countdowns that will begin getting students ready for the largest Charter Day Ball in Miami's history," said Alicia Burrello, Program Board's co-chair for Charter Day Ball.
Burrello said that Charter Day Ball is a tradition at Miami, that occurs every three years and was first held in the 1970s in Shriver Center's Heritage Room.
"Two years ago, I went to the Charter Day Ball as a senior," said Molly Heffinger, a Miami alumnae. "It was a great opportunity to get all dressed up and do something exciting. It wasn't an exclusive function ... which doesn't happen very often on campus. Attending as a senior, (it) was a great closure event to be with fellow students, enjoy food, the awesome chocolate fountain, and see a slideshow of pictures from the past year."
Despite the elegance and successes of past Charter Day Balls, with Miami's Bicentennial Celebration occurring in 2009, Program Board hopes to up the ante on next year's event.
It will be called the Bicentennial Ball and will officially kick off Miami's bicentennial year Feb. 21, 2009-spearheading the other events Miami has planned for the Bicentennial Celebration.
Jenn King, Campus Activities Council's co-chair for Charter Day Ball, truly believes next year's Bicentennial Ball will surpass all other balls Miami has seen in the past.
"Every other Charter Day Ball has just been a fancy and elegant sort of thing," she said. "This year we will have all of that but we also want to incorporate and emphasize Miami's history and really show what Miami is all about. The event is so elegant and much different than anything else I'll ever do planning-wise."
Starting this week, Burrello and King-along with assisting committees from Campus Activities Council, Program Board, AfterDark, sororities and other groups on campus-will be kept busy with plans for the ball and its countdown events.
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"Jenn King and I both have a million meetings from here on out," Burrello said. "We oversee four different committees-public relations, entertainment, events and decorations. We have approximately 40 members in total. We are in contact with the bicentennial committee and the president's office. We are kind of the liaison between the university, everyone on campus, and the planning committee."
It is important to the co-chairs and other committee members that Miami students are well aware of the Bicentennial Ball and they are planning a series of promotional events that will lead up to Feb. 21, 2009 event.
"This Thursday we will be handing out red tuxedo shirts that say, 'Get Ready to Party like it's 1809,'" King said. "We'll be at the Hub from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., getting the word out, and getting the students aware of what it's all about."
Thursday is just a small launch to the bigger events that will pick up with the start of the 2008-09 school year.
"We'll also have 200 balloons surrounding the Hub, and will be passing out cookies that say 'Bicentennial Ball' on them," Burrello said. "We want to get the word out and get people excited now. We'll be doing larger events, including countdowns on the 21st of each month, starting in August with the six-month countdown."
Burrello hopes that the advertising will pay off when it comes time for the event.
"We plan on promoting this and advertising on campus like crazy, and we hope everyone wants to come," Burrello said. "Right now, we are working out details, seeing how many people we are allowed to have in Millett, figuring out the food, the style, and how we will incorporate Miami's history at the ball."
These details-food, style and historic elements-are still in the works, according to organizers.
"We hope to see the faculty and administration wearing the red T-shirts handed out at the hub," Burrello said. "Everyone is thrilled about the event."
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