Editor’s note: Please welcome our first ArtsBeat intern, Sarah Goebel, a junior at the University of South Florida Tampa who is interested in going into broadcast journalism. This is her first story for ArtsBeat.

Whether wearing glittering vintage gowns or elaborate costumes crafted to suit a fantastical theme, guests will once again fill the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium March 21 when the historic Beaux Arts Ball returns as part of Art Center Sarasota’s centennial celebration.

The beloved gala, which once transformed Sarasota into a dazzling playground of music and spectacle, will again bring together artists, performers and community members for a night where art and imagination take center stage.

For decades, the ball was a call to creativity, as guests dressed in elaborate themed costumes – from mythological creatures to experimental fashion designs – turning the auditorium into a living gallery of art, performance and imagination. 

“It started out as a costumed gala ball, just a night of fun and singing and dancing and performing,” said Alecia Harper, donor relations coordinator at Art Center Sarasota. 

Originally founded in the 1920s,  the ball blossomed after it was popularized by students of the Ringling School of Art and Design in the ‘40s, who seized the opportunity to let their creative talents run wild.

As the event grew in popularity, it outgrew its early venues. The celebration moved from the Ringling Hotel to the Lido Beach Casino before eventually settling in the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, a grand WPA-era landmark built in 1931, whose sweeping arches and historic character provided a dramatic backdrop for the extravagant celebration.

By the early 1950s, the Beaux Arts Ball had become the social event of the season. Artists, performers and members of Sarasota’s rapidly growing cultural scene packed the auditorium each year with dazzling costumes, elaborate decorations and lively performances that blurred the line between art show and theatrical spectacle. The event even attracted prominent guests, including famed filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and members of the Ringling family. Dancers, musicians and costumed guests moved through the hall as if stepping into a living work of art.

By the ‘60s, the event had faded, though it had periodic reenactments and revivals over the next decade that often veered dramatically from the original, including a notable return in 2018 that encouraged costumes made with recycled materials. 

For the last 30 years, Ringling College has hosted its own Avant-Garde party in which guests were encouraged to wear imaginative costumes based on a specific theme.

This year’s revival celebrates Art Center Sarasota’s 100th anniversary and aims to bring back the magic that once defined the Beaux Arts Ball. Organizers selected a Roaring ’20s theme to honor the year the art center was founded in 1926 (as the Sarasota Art Association), inviting guests to embrace the glamour of the Jazz Age with sparkling dresses, sharp tuxedos and vintage-inspired style.

“We wanted to bring back that feel from the ’40s and ’50s where the community gathers to support the visual arts and the artists that live or winter here,” Harper said.

Beyond the costumes and performances, the Beaux Arts Ball reflects Sarasota’s long history as a center for the arts, shaped by generations of artists, performers and cultural organizations that helped build the city’s creative identity.

Organizers hope the centennial celebration will once again fill the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium with music, color, and festivity as the community gathers to celebrate one of Sarasota’s most unusual artistic traditions.

“We hope to recapture that glamour and drama this year,” Harper said.

This year’s event will feature a jazz trio led by Los Angeles-based musician Ben Thomas, the former lead singer of Zappa Plays Zappa.

Proceeds from the event fund exhibitions, scholarships and accessible arts education for all ages.

“For a century, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota’s first arts organization, has played a vital role in shaping the region’s cultural identity,” Executive Director Katherine Ceaser said in a statement. “The Beaux Arts Ball celebrates not only the arts, but the extraordinary community of members and supporters whose generosity keeps our exhibitions, education programs and artist initiatives possible while remaining admission-free.”

The Beaux Arts Ball starts at 6 p.m. March 21 at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail. Tickets start at $300. artsarasota.ejoinme.org/tickets; 941-365-2032