The highly anticipated Meadow Brook Ball is back! The dance will be held Friday, April 8 from 8 p.m. until midnight at the Meadow Brook Mansion. President of the Meadow Brook Ball Committee Abigail Walsh talks about the details of the dance. 

D’Juanna Lester, The Oakland Post: What is planned for the night?

Abigail Walsh: [There will be] many forms of entertainment at the ball — dancing, a DJ in the ballroom at the mansion, photo experiences, a flip book (those little animations you make when you draw but with photos), caricature artists. It’s a nice takeaway that students can take home. We’ll also have henna artists and a tarot card reader. We’ll also have cards and games out in another room for a more chill night. We’ll also have a harp player and tours of the mansion. 

When are tickets on sale until?

Tickets are on sale until they sell out. We have about fifty left [as of March 10.] Tickets cost $30 for OU students and $35 for non-OU students and are available at the OSI ticket window in the Oakland Center. Students should bring their OU ID to purchase tickets. 

Is this an annual event?

Yes, it is annual. We couldn’t have one last year because of the pandemic, but every year we have had [the ball].

What is the 2022 theme? 

This year’s theme is glitter and gold. 

What is the dress code? 

The dress code is formal attire. If people ask questions about it we say that most of the men that attend wear suits or a nice dress shirt or pants. Most of the women that attend wear long gowns — some wear short gowns too. It’s mostly similar to a prom or a gala. If you want to wear whatever you want, I’ve seen some women rock some really cool suits. Something formal. 

Will there be a mask mandate and what are the COVID-19 safety protocols?

Since the event is on campus, we will be following all of the campus’s COVID guidelines. As of right now, that means a mask mandate. Whatever policy changes they make, we will be following that. 

How long has the committee been planning it?

We’ve had an interesting year this year with the planning. Since we didn’t get to have one last year, we were planning on having one in the fall and one in the winter. With the cases in the fall, we weren’t allowed to. We’ve been planning this, since, I’d say, the summer. It’s been a very long process. 

Describe the planning process. 

We normally start out with our theme. We try to make sure it’s a theme we haven’t done before. We don’t want students to have the same theme in the years they’ve attended the school. After the themes, we move on to the entertainment. We want students to have things to do all night long while they’re there. We try to find things that students enjoy, and we have some new experiences too. It’s a mix of new and old. From there, we reach out to sponsors and fundraising events. This year we did bottle drives. The last step is pretty much getting all the vendors contracts, paperwork mostly and decorations. 

For more information and updates on the Meadow Brook Ball, visit @mbbc_ou on Instagram.