Main Street Deli, a supporter of the Big, Bright Ball, serves a salad dish to guests – photo by Michael Dwyer
The Big, Bright Ball
The signature fundraiser for the Big, Bright Light Show brings supporters together and helps secure the future of the holiday event. Held at the Royal Park Hotel in Downtown Rochester on August 4, the Big, Bright Ball had something for everyone. All ages enjoyed the dance floor, the food from area restaurants and the attention-grabbing silent auction items.
Kruse & Muer, the Rochester Chop House, Main Street Deli, O’Connor’s Public House, Penny Black, Rochester Mills Beer Co., The Meeting House, the Royal Park Hotel and Sanders all sponsored the strolling dinner. Attendees roamed from food table to food table, chatting about what each other tried, and what they should get more of on the next round.
The Kids Dominate the Dance Floor at the Big, Bright Ball – photo by Michael Dwyer
The Silent Auction
The silent auction was quite popular with many local items such as a bike from the Rochester Bike Shop, salad for a year from Main Street Deli, beer for year from the Rochester Mills Beer Co. and the Mewelin Rouge sheep from the Rochester DDA.
Deborah and Steve Atwell won the bid on the Mewelin Rouge sheep. A catchy play on words gave this prize (a sheep dressed up as a Moulin Rouge dancer) its name. Deborah really wanted to take home something that “said” Rochester and she thought a piece of art from the Ewe Revue II (another popular DDA event) would be perfect. Congratulations to Deborah from Rochester Media.
Mewelin Rouge Silent Auction item – photo by Michael Dwyer
Light the Town
Raffle tickets were sold for a chance to win the opportunity to flip the switch on opening night of the Big, Bright Light Show. Courtney Batzold of Rochester Hills and her family won. “We are honored and excited to be part of such a special hometown event. The lights are very magical and the whole experience of just seeing them is breathtaking,” said Batzold.
Courtney and the Batzold family will be downtown to “flip the switch” and “light the town” as the official start of The Big, Bright Light Show commences on December 2 during Lagniappe at 7:00 p.m. The Big, Bright Light Show covers the Main Street building with over 1.5 million lights. The light show runs from December 2, 2013 through January 4, 2014.
Bike from the Rochester Bike Shop – photo by Michael Dwyer
Become a Supporter
If you missed the Big, Bright Ball and you would still like to support the light show, you may become a member. Members receive exclusive benefits including a limited edition ornament.
This year’s ball brought in $10,800 through ticket sales and auction items. The Rochester Downtown Development Authority hosts many events throughout the year. Check out all the Rochester DDA does by going to their website: www.downtownrochestermi.com
About Michael Dwyer