Sapphire Fund’s annual fundraising festivity Blue Ball Weekend celebrated its 20th — and final — anniversary last year, as it has been revamped and redesigned for 2012.
The event has been rebranded as Sapphire Weekend, which will run Jan. 27-29, with the new signature Sapphire Ball scheduled that Saturday at the Franklin Institute.
Domenic Gallelli, president of Sapphire Fund, which raises money for LGBT causes, said the organization was looking to broaden the appeal of the weekend with the changes.
“We think Blue Ball ran its course,” Gallelli said. “It’s an event that served a great purpose but it had a certain connotation that lent itself to being considered a dance party, which it was, but because of that, it isolated large segments of the LGBT community and allies who felt that that wasn’t the ideal choice for them. So we decided it was time for a complete change.”
The ball will be held in Monument Hall of the Franklin Institute, with entertainment provided by a 10-piece band.
In a tribute to its former moniker, the semi-formal event is being billed as “blue-tie” optional, and guests are encouraged, but not required, to wear masquerade attire.
The Sapphire Ball Reception, from 8-10 p.m., will include an open bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres, and guests at Sapphire Ball Live, from 10 p.m.-1 a.m., can partake in a wide selection of desserts and the live music.
“It’s a really cool space with great lighting and a really sexy feel,” Gallelli said. “Everyone likes to get dressed up and go out, and this is a really unique event that a lot of different people in the LGBT community will enjoy.”
Sapphire Weekend will open with the Winter Wonderland Stimulus party held at Voyeur Jan. 27 and will wrap up with the Sapphire Brunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 29 at The Pyramid Club.
Gallelli said Sapphire Fund has reached out to a number of its former beneficiaries to make the weekend a more “interactive” community celebration. Proceeds from Sapphire Weekend will benefit the National Adoption Center and Child Advocates, two agencies that have spearheaded LGBT-specific adoption initiatives.
Sapphire Fund was one of the agencies that last year supported the National Adoption Center’s Adoption Café series, which provided resources and advice to prospective LGBT parents in the area.
Sapphire Fund is looking to raise $100,000 from the weekend, and is anticipating a guest list of up to 600 for Sapphire Ball.
The new look of the weekend meshes well with the organization’s refreshed direction, Gallelli said.
“We’ve worked really hard to recruit new board members and we’re going to be placing more of an emphasis on development, programming and education and more of a focus on getting a broader scope of the community involved,” he said. “We have a new logo for the ball, we’re reinventing our organization’s logo and we’ve refined our mission. We’re really excited to be opening this up to have a wider, mainstream appeal.”
Tickets can be purchased at www.sapphirefund.org.