Read Your Indulgence

Destinations: The Life Ball – GOLD!

March 9, 2015

Grab Life by the Ball
There are parties, and then there are PARTIES. Pack your tux and learn a waltz, — we are headed to the native habitat of the grand ball: Vienna.
As glossy, glamorous grand soirees go, the Life Ball is tough to beat. Actually four separate events — the Opening Ceremony, Solidarity Gala, First Ladies Luncheon, and Red Ribbon Celebration Concert — and several smaller side events, this grandest of all HIV/AIDS benefits pulls in the best in brightest from up and down the cultural spectrum. Bill Clinton, opera maestro Piotr Beczala, drag diva Courtney Act, Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, and Jean Paul Gautier have all made face-time on the red carpet and stages. I’ve attended, and arranged tours, for several years (this year, too!) and every time the Life Ball lives up to its rep as a star-powered gobsmack.
Each year has a theme; this go-around, held on May 16th, is “Gold – Ver Sacrum.” That last part is an old Roman holiday ushering in spring. The first indicates the color scheme. Expect gold in all its glitter bedecking avant-garde art installations inspired by Gustav Klimt’s golden paintings and Igor Stravinsky’s Sacre du Printemps, and on all the models, dancers, and other spectaculars that regularly rock the ball. Download a Bollywood dance number to get an idea of the sparkle expected.
To be sure, this is not a lowbrow event; even the drag queens will be dressed to the nines. The Life Ball is one of the biggest stops on the world charities calendar, and perhaps the biggest one, period, for HIV/AIDS specifically. While the Opening Ceremony in the City Hall Square and the rest of the Life Ball parties inside the historic rooms of the City Hall assure the clean-up crews will be swiffering sequins out for weeks, the important thing is the funds raised for the unsung heroes of the Ball: the scientists and researchers fighting a disease that rages on 30 years after it first appeared.
To its credit, the Austrian capital goes all out for this puppy, and this is a city with 450 balls on its calendar. Now in its 23rd year, the Life Ball is one of the “it events” for a city famed for “it events.” If you like seeing and being seen, this is your chance to shine. And for a good cause.  Steele Luxury Travel is the only US Travel company to offer access to this exclusive annual event. Contact us at 646-688-2274 to secure your trip to the Life Ball 2015!
For more information on the life ball, go to lifeball.org.