As Santa Clarita and the rest of the world count down to 2019’s arrival, the SCV Senior Center is gearing up for its New Year’s Eve black-and-white masquerade ball on Dec. 31.
“We’ll be asking people to wear black-and-white apparel,” said Blyth Birchall, assistant to Robin Clough, director of volunteers and recreation. “We’ll have the ball drop. They’ll get a video screen with music and audio to actually watch the ball drop down 12 hours early.”
An annual event, the theme changes year after year, according to Birchall.
The masquerade ball begins at 11:30 a.m. and will go on for an hour in the Senior Center’s dining room. The purpose behind holding it earlier in the day is so seniors could spend the latter half of the day with their families and have the chance to celebrate the arrival of the new year, she added.
This free event will feature live music from Tess and Friends, a group formed by frequent Senior Center visitors who will perform classic rock songs throughout the ball.
The ball is expected to bring together around 200 attendees, Birchall said.
With this being her first New Year’s experience at the Senior Center, she added that she looked forward to seeing people enjoy each other’s company.
“I just want people to be happy together and enjoy bringing in the new year,” she said. “But I also hope that, while they celebrate, they look back on how wonderful of a year it was in 2018.”
This event is free and open to seniors and their families as well as to the public, though only those seniors will have access to meals provided.
Along with the arrival of the new year, the Senior Center is also looking forward to the long-awaited opening of its new facility on Golden Valley Road in the spring.