Published: February 16, 2011

Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC)’s upcoming Winter Ball, themed “A Winter in Paris,” will be held at The Essex House.

According to the Winter Ball committee, The Essex House, located at 160 Central Park South, was chosen above 25 other potential venues for its French palace atmosphere, convenient location in relation to Lincoln Center and affordable price.

This year’s event, to be held on Feb. 25 from 8 p.m. to midnight, is funded by FCLC’s United Student Government (USG) and Campus Activities Board (CAB).

“Usually when we come down to our top three or four venue choices, we try to get a feel for the space and try to envision what the event would actually look like,” Ryan O’Toole, FCLC ’12, and Winter Ball committee chairman, said, “The Essex House colors are very French, some blue, some gold and tons of chandeliers; it has a very French feel.”

Tickets to this year’s event, priced at $65 for FCLC students and $85 for all other students, grants students entry to the event, a four-course meal and access to optional activities such as a photo booth station.

According to the event committee, there will not be alcohol served this year.  “There has been alcohol served [in years prior], but The Essex House doesn’t have a cash bar that they offer for the actual ballroom space,” O’Toole said.

“If we really wanted to have alcohol present at the event, we could allow people to go out to the hotel lobby, but for security and safety reasons we didn’t really want people going over to the bar and coming back to the event.”

Atmosphere and location were cited as important factors to consider when choosing a venue for this event, as well as food and beverage options. The event will serve six appetizers, a salad, entree and dessert.

O’Toole said, “We asked what prices were like at the Essex lobby bar and they said that prices ran at a minimum of $15 per drink.”

Last year, the Winter Ball committee included a cash bar at the event, but O’Toole said that only 10 drinks were sold during the whole event, so “the committee thought that it wasn’t a huge priority to have alcohol at the event this year.”

Students agreed with O’Toole and said the lack of alcohol at the event did not affect their decision to attend.

“I’m fine with there being no alcohol at this year’s ball. Last year there was alcohol, but it was so expensive that there was no point in buying it,” Brian O’Connell, FCLC ’11, said.

“I know alcohol is expensive to have at the ball, so you would think it would reflect a cheaper ticket, but it doesn’t,” Camille Avena, FCLC ’11, said. “If there was alcohol I would drink responsibly, but I would rather see cheaper tickets if anything.”

Based on ticket sales, attendees will vary anywhere from freshmen to faculty. “We hope that a lot of freshmen come because we want to get as many new people [as possible],” O’Toole said.

Suggested attire for the event is semi-formal.

The committee said they expect “A Winter in Paris” to be a successful event. “Last year was an amazing, amazing event, and we definitely plan to surpass that,” O’Toole said. “In terms of the space that we’ve chosen, it’s more convenient for Lincoln Center students, the menu is amazing and we have a great DJ who we think is going to be a hit.

“The DJ we have chosen is DJ 24/7 from Nyghtvizion Entertainment. We are confident that he is going to be a huge crowd pleaser,” O’Toole.