Sisters Having a (Red Rose) Ball
Writer: Sara F. Editor: Grace C.
Once every four years, Alpha Omicron Pi holds its formal event, the “Red Rose Ball.” The Red Rose Ball is a unique event where all sisters and their dates wear black, and the Chapter President wears red. The color red represents AOII’s cardinal color, their ruby jewel, and their flower, the Jacqueminot Rose.
On April 22nd, the AOII chapter held this event at Shiloh Farms in Tallahassee. Sisters and their dates gathered at the beautiful location, where they enjoyed a full meal and lots of dancing. The chapter also hired the band “Nevidon,” who came all the way over from Jacksonville to perform and entertain for the night.
The chapter’s night to remember was planned by their Director of Event Planning, Julia E. Julia, and her team has been planning this event since December 2021. They began by touring different venues, booking caterers and the band, and working on decorations, rentals, etc.
Julia describes picking the venue as one of the most challenging aspects of planning this event. Apart from touring multiple gorgeous venues in Tallahassee, there had to be space for approximately 300 guests to sit down and eat dinner while still having room for a dance floor. Shiloh Farms was the perfect place to hold the event, with its beautiful venue and numerous areas for sisters to take photos.
“This event was very detail-oriented, all the way down to the placement of the centerpieces. I think I spent at least three hours a day working on the Red Rose Ball and six hours at the venue the day of. A lot of hard work went into planning the event, but after seeing the joy on everyone's faces, it made every minute spent on the event worth it,” Julia says.
The Red Rose Ball is memorable for sisters because it is different from a typical formal as chapter members can only dress in black and attend the formal once in their AOII career. Along with the dinner and band, AOII held an awards ceremony for their end-of-the-year superlatives.
On top of the black-tie attire, there was a pop of red. Alpha Omicron Pi’s President, Catherine B., was the only sister in attendance wearing red. This is a tradition for the chapter, as the President represents the ruby and red rose.
“I have dreamed of being Chapter President since I joined three years ago, and this is a reminder of the deep honor that it is to serve my sisters,” she says.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was AOII’s first formal in three years with all chapter members together. Last year, they had a smaller event with multiple shifts, and the year before, they were not able to have a formal event. Catherina and Julia say it was exciting for this event to feel more "back to normal.”
Sisters left the chapter facility for a fun bus ride to the venue, with time to take photos, listen to live music, and mingle before sitting down and enjoying dinner. Catherine and Julia handed out fun superlatives to their sisters during the meal. The sisters of AOII enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime event, dancing the night away and having a ball.