“The society went all out to put on a costume ball in the popular society hall in the 3rd floor of the building at the corner of Exchange Street and York Street,” a history of the Bangor Art Society reads.
The year was 1938, and the social affair was a must-attend. A man named John McKernan was master of ceremonies, and Mrs. J.C. Stoddard passed out prizes for those with the most impressive costumes.
However, things changed when the country went to war. The Bangor Art Society, founded in 1875, stopped holding annual costume balls in the ’40s as the blanket of World War II settled over the country. The event became a distant memory.
But Teddi-Jann Covell, president of the Bangor Art Society, is bringing it back for 2016. The Bangor Arts Society will hold a costume ball from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, March 19, at The Tarratine on Park Street. There will be refreshments, a silent masterpiece auction and music from a live band, the Eastern Standard Trio.
For the Bangor Art Society’s 141st anniversary, the costume ball will be held, hearkening back to days of old, complete with the requirement for attendees to dress as an artist or character in a painting.
“The entire house, all the way up to the top floor billiard room, will be open,” Covell said of the Tarratine. The building was built in 1907 and was once the home of the Tarratine Club, an upscale social club of the time.
Much of the buildings original features remain, and Covell hopes they will add to the event and take participants back in time.
“We hope to revive the interest in BAS and really acknowledge the historical significance that this society had in the growth of the city and the arts,” Covell said. She plans to make the event an annual one, kicking off with the first in many years.
Covell plans to come dressed as Madame X from the John Singer Sargent painting — “the scandalous painting that got him thrown out of the salon,” she said.
The costume ball is open to all, with a ticket price for members costing $20. It’s $30 per ticket for nonmembers. They can be bought online at http://thebangorartsociety.com or at Print Bangor at 80 Central St. in Bangor.
