Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball

[tink]

I was thinking of seeing about getting a group of us together to go to one. Not sure about this year because my job and my health are sort of up in the air but what's next summer look like for you all? They just got up the pictures from last year! I'm in #7 and #478 (I think it was that one, really close to the end)

[Elenna]

I would love to go! When is the ball this year? I'm planning on being in the Las Vegas area sometime in July and would be curious to see if I can make it this year. Regardless, I am totally up for a meeting for next year!

[tink]

Stuff is up!

www.labyrinthmasquerade.com

July 1-2

[lisas]

When is this & Where ?

[tink]

Usually it's the first or second weekend of July in Los Angeles. All the info should be relatively up-to-date

www.labyrinthmasquerade.com

If you want to see what it's like, go to youtube and put in Labyrinth of Jareth and see what comes up. They have a beautiful new venue. Just a word of advice/warning if you are actually planning to go - this thing is'nt strictly Labyrinth anymore, it's more of an overall fantasy party with steampunk overtones although there are Jareths and Sarahs lurking in the crowd. It's also a lot less dark than it used to be, which for me was oddly both a relief and a little sad. The last time I went was Year 13 so I don't know what's changed since then.

[desiringpirates]

I've always wanted to go the LoJ, but am always afraid too. What do you expect there? Are there shows and vendors, or is it just a ball? Do you have to have a costume?

[tink]

This should help

www.labyrinthmasquerade.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Lord-Chamberlain/124022554301818

It's a very fancy fantasy free-for-all. Live entertainment on the hour every hour. There are maybe two or three vendors but it's mostly a party. Costume is a must (see the Lord Chamberlain posts on what to wear. I would go with renting for your first time unless you are a seamstress.)

[Bezzo]

So, is anybody on here going to this year's ball? I'd love to hear some tales from it.

[TempestFae]

I went, I went! This was my fourth year, and I travel all the way from Atlanta to L.A. (leading to some interesting interactions with airport security about the contents of my carry-ons).

This was my first year taking my girlfriend and she was just blown away. I LOVE the Park Place venue, and the story vignettes get better every year. And we got to stay at the Millennium Biltmore hotel, this year, which is so old and cool! I love being able to "step outside" the real world for a couple of hours, two nights of the year.

It has definitely expanded from being entirely Labyrinth based, but I like the change. There are so many factions and courts that are intermingled. You get the sense that the Labyrinth is just one small part of an entire Faerie universe, far more complicated than anything we saw in the film. The Froud-Henson aesthetic base is still there. It's just...grown up a bit.

I love how everyone is there to PLAY! Some of my favorite moments happened with strangers, without a word exchanged. I once came around a corner and ran smack into a goblin. He jumped back, and I remembered that there was a beak on my mask. So I pecked at him. He "eep"ed and jumped back. So I pecked at him again. Next thing I know we were playing tag, running through the dance floor, dodging people on stilts, running full tilt through the crowd and both laughing hysterically. Or the time I let a vampire "hypnotize" me and "control" my movements for a dance. It's not ALL play, there are knots of people standing around and chatting about mundane matters, but I try to ignore them.

I am honestly getting a little tired of all the Steampunkers invading everything fantasy, however. I avoided the garden most of the party because that seemed to be where they were all congregating.

Oh, and the pizza dragon is amazing!

[Bezzo]

It always sounds so interesting. Were any of the Frouds in attendance this year?

[TempestFae]

I heard that Brian was, but if I saw him I didn't recognize him (A distinct possibility, as there were plenty of times I looked around and didn't see a single human face). I did spot one "celebrity": Grant Imahara was in attendance on Saturday night.

[labyrinthrunner]

I would cry if I went, its just so magical. Did you guys dance a lot? And what music do they play?

[TempestFae]

This will be my fifth year traveling all the way from Atlanta. And yes, I do cry, because it is so magical.

If they continue along the same lines of the last few years, there are three different ballrooms. I do lots of dancing! The main ball room, where most of the vignettes happen, has variable music, from new-agey to 80's to more modern sort of stuff. The band Alice usually does a set in there, and the elvish choir also did a set, last year. I tend to hang out in there, a lot, because the vignettes are my favorite part of the whole experience.

The other upstairs ball room is more "classical." They play minuets and waltzes and that was where Piano Cosplay and the opera singers were. Oh, and the royal tea!

The downstairs ballroom is more techno-ish. I love dancing to the stuff, but I'm not in the scene, so I'm not a good judge, though I did recognize a Lindsey Sterling song! (My girlfriend was so excited by it, she accidentally elbowed me in the face. Thank goddess for sturdy masks!)

There are also live music performances in several non-ballroom areas. There's a small stage in the elven garden, a larger one out by the goblin encampment (home of the Pizza Dragon!), and some bands perform in the foyer.

Lots of sound, lots of visuals, lots of awesome. It's the best thing I do all year!

[labyrinthrunner]

Aah, it sounds terrific! I cried the first time I heard about the ball. Geez I'm such a crybaby.

That room sounds cool, and elvish choir, like, wow man, elvish choir!!

Whaaat royal tea? Tell me more!

Pizza dragon sound like something I really want to eat.. haha.

I believe ya! Do you sew or rent or buy the clothes you're going in? There is a dressing code if I'm not wrong, yes?

[TempestFae]

I haven't done the royal tea, but it's pretty much what it sounds like. The Goblin Chef is quite talented; I had some of his chocolate covered strawberries one year. It wasn't until two weeks later I remembered the poem:

"We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots?"

The pizza that came out of the pizza dragon was truly fantastic. And we ate it standing at a giant wooden table shaped like a phoenix.

I sew my own costumes. And it's a bit of trouble, because we fly cross-country to get there and I'm terrified of the airline losing my checked bag! So it also has to all fit in a carry on! Over the years I've been a clockwork doll, a random steam-punk chick, but my two current favorites are my Phoenix and my Night Priestess.