Taborian Hall is a historic building in downtown Little Rock, Ark. The building was once a USO for African American soldiers during World War II.
Little Rock, Ark. (PRWEB) November 05, 2014
On November 7th, the Dreamland Ballroom will host its 5th Annual Dancing into Dreamland dance competition and fundraiser.
The yearly fundraiser is to generate funds for improvements and renovations to the historic 98-year-old building located at 800 West Ninth Street. The current campaign is to raise funds to make Taborian Hall Americans with Disabilities Act compliant by installing an elevator.
This year’s event will be co-hosted by Clea Hupp and Alice 107.7’s PoolBoy and during the evening a tribute to late actor and musician Lawrence Hamilton (a past emcee of the fundraiser) will be presented as well as two exhibition dances by past winners. The competition this year has 9 entrants including couples and groups dancing a variety of styles such as ballroom, tap, tango and more.
Celebrity judges Christen Burke Pitts, Sericia Cole and David Miller will choose the overall winner of the dance competition while guests will vote for their favorite dancers for the People’s Choice Award by text voting.
There will be more than $20,000 in silent auction items up for grabs during the event and the bidding will be by phone, freeing guests from having to huddle around bid sheets.
There will be hors d'oeuvres served along with drinks and an hour long free dance will be open for any and all guests to cut a rug.
Dreamland Ballroom is housed on the third floor of Taborian Hall built in 1916. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and hosted such musical legends as Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong and a host of other legendary artists throughout the years.
In the 1970s through the 1980s the building fell into disrepair and was rescued in 1991 by Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com’s owner Kerry McCoy. The Friends of Dreamland non-profit was formed and has been working to save and restore this piece of Little Rock’s cultural history.
The Friends of Dreamland invite the public to attend; general admission tickets are available for $69 each at the door. Dress in party attire. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Friday, November 7 at 800 West 9th Street, Little Rock, Ark. Entrances are on the State Street side of the building.
The Friends of Dreamland is a 501(c)(3) corporation. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Visit http://www.dreamlandballroom.org or call 501.255.5700 for details.