Masks were donned to support WAC outreach programs

FAYETTEVILLE — It was the Walton Arts Center as some had never seen it before: the largest portion of its seating had been removed for a makeshift dining and dance floor, there were acrobatics overhead, and feet were shuffling confidently at the hem of every long gown and pair of fresh-pressed tuxedo pants below.

And there were masks, from the plain and simple, undecorated black and gold, to the exquisite facades like you’d see at a dacades-old ball in — Metairie. On the mask front, you could say the WAC’s patronage has a way to go to get to “Carnival.”

The Walton Arts Center’s second annual Masquerade Ball supporting education and community outreach, held Feb. 18 (Saturday) at the center on Dickson Street, was by most gauges a success. The affair raised $70,000 last year and was expected to break the $100,000 mark in 2012. Tickets to the affair were $150 each. Mechelle and Jack Sinclair were the honorary co-chairmen.

The evening started with cocktails and a buffet at 7 p.m. with a small silent auction to coincide with dinner. A live auction at 9 p.m caused the largest adjustment in the bottom line, with a trip for two tot Montego Bay in Jamaica, a weekend getaway to Vail, Colo.; and a six or seven-night cruise in a balcony-level cabin to the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Alaska or Europe. Professional auctioneer Richard Clifton was in charge of driving prices up.

Dinner selections ranged from alligator bites and shrimp Pontchartrain from Cafe Rue Orleans to smoked salmon and cheese offerings from Ella’s restaurant.

Entertainment was kicked off by Siloam Springs native Grady Nichols, a saxophonist classified as one of the hottest-rising starts in smooth jazz. Guests danced mostly to the rhythm and blues and heartfelt soul by Lagniappe, which was just as the named suggested: “A little something extra.”

In between band breaks, center officials took guests’ eyes up above the dance floor. Gymnasts and aerial artists with little fear of heights performed on an apparatus dangling from the ceiling of Baum Walker Hall.