At the beginning of his or her year of office the Mayor of St Ives announces which particular local charities will receive their special support during the year. Towards the end of the official year usually around early March, but sometimes in November, the Mayor and staff of St Ives Town Council will organise a black-tie ball to raise funds for the selected charities.
About 400 people will assemble at the Burgess Civic Hall in Black-Tie and Decorations to sit down to a multi-course dinner, table entertainments and plenty of liquid refreshment
Mr Michael Lynch protecting himself from bombardment from the neighbouring table
The culprit with the over-sized pea shooter!
Of course they are paying handsomely for the privilege of joining this happy company and are expected to part with even more cash as the night wears on. During the dinner there is usually some form of additional musical entertainment
An odd trio with a big hooter!
Note: The debris on the dance floor is from the balloon bombardment that goes on most of the night
However the serious nature of the occasion must not be forgotten and it is customary for the serving Mayor to thank their guests in advance for the fleecing they are about to undergo and to remind all of the vital work that the recipients of the resulting funds actually do in our community.
The 2007 Mayor of St Ives, Cllr Deborah Reynolds, thanking her guests in advance for going home broke
Guests loosen up on the dance floor at the Mayors Civic Ball 2007
Now the serious wallet emptying begins and I mean serious as some of the auction lots go for four figure sums AND I MEAN THOUSANDS OF POUNDS not hundreds after all this is a charity fund-raising event.
The 2007 "Auctioneer" Sue Campbell and her team of bid spotters - blink now and it will cost you dear.
About a dozen major "prizes" are put up for auction at the Mayor's Ball and these can range from a chalet for six for a week in the Swiss Alps to the loan of a 100m luxury yacht on the Thames in London to hold a dinner for 10 guests or even the loan of the runway at RAF Wyton to go ballistic with your car or motorbike without fear of being caught by the Police. But this is not the only means of emptying your purses and wallets as there is a tombola with dozens of smaller prizes and an envelope draw too. When the find raising efforts are concluded the band returns to the stage and the dancing goes on well into the following day
Dancing into the early hours of the morning at the St Ives Civic Ball
The party which began at around 19.00 (7pm) goes on till around 02.00 (2am) on the following day and even then it really only disperses to other more private locations.
