The colonial ball is now an anniversary gala and there won’t be a Main Street parade, but Riverhead Town’s 225th birthday party will go on and tickets to the event are being offered to residents free of charge.
The gala will take place at the Suffolk Theater on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Suffolk Theater. It will feature hors d’oeuvres, a buffet dinner, cash bar and dancing to the sounds of The New Millennium Jazz Band, according to a press release.
Colonial costume is optional for the event and there will be a costume contest — with prizes.
The town is able to offer free admission thanks to fundraising that brought in about $30,000, said Councilman Tim Hubbard, chairman of the 225th anniversary committee. Only 208 tickets will be made available on a first-come, first-serve basis, he said, and they are limited to four per person.
“We ended up raising so much money for this event, more than I envisioned,” Hubbard said today.
United Riverhead Terminal is the main event sponsor with a $10,000 donation, Hubbard said. Tanger Outlets is another major donor and a commemorative journal being printed for the event has raised about $18,000 through advertising, he said.
Deciding to forego a parade was “a hard decision,” Hubbard said, “but we just don’t have the helping hands or bodies to do it.”
The colonial ball was originally scheduled for June 9, but was postponed due to lack of ticket sales. The committee raised additional money and was able to offer tickets at zero cost to attendees for this new event.
Tickets are available on the Suffolk Theater website. The event was posted by the theater yesterday.
“Tickets are going fast,” Hubbard said.
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