Redhawks will have the chance to party Gatsby-style at Seattle University’s annual Fall Ball this Saturday.

Seattle U’s Student Events and Activities Council puts on Fall Ball every year, and it’s often one of the most anticipated events of fall quarter.

The upcoming extravaganza is being held at the eclectic EMP Museum, where students can dance in the museum’s dazzling Sky Church and visit several of the creative pop culture exhibits.

This year’s Fall Ball theme is inspired by the Art Deco style of the 1920s jazz era.

“Jazz Age was the theme of my senior prom,” said psychology and criminal justice double major Grace Martz, SEAC’s Fall Ball chair. “It was interestingly executed, and I wanted to see about executing it better. I also thought that it was an interesting theme and being at the EMP I wanted it to incorporate music. I wanted it to be classy. So, Jazz Age it was.”

The location for Fall Ball helped to inspire the event’s theme.
“It’s been a good amount of collaboration with people at the venue,” Martz said. “Making sure that I have all of the pieces to make it happen. I’m really good at executing things and thinking logically, but creativity is not in my list of fortes.”

SEAC and the EMP have worked together for the past few months to ensure the event’s success.

“I’ve been working with them about how events classically are run there.” Martz said.

Aside from planning and coordinating the event, SEAC members also promoted annual dance with posters and a visual presence on campus.

Emma Fried, one of two graphic designers for SEAC, designed this year’s Art Deco–inspired posters. The poster design invokes the infectious energy of 1920s New York.

“I wanted it to be a saxophone, but I wanted Jazz Age in the middle of it,” said Fried, who is majoring in digital design. “If people perceive it as a French horn, that’s cool! As long as they get that jazzy feel.”

The venue is famously colorful and futuristic, so Fried wanted to incorporate the location into the design.

“The idea behind it is that, even though it’s a dance, I wanted the music to stand out too,” Fried said. “I wanted to use the actual instrument to create the logo. I wanted an evening feel with the colors; I added the geometric pattern to give it a more EMP modern feel.”

SEAC also helped spread the word though marketing. SEAC creative marketer April Jingco was in charge of advertising for the event.

“As the creative marketer for Fall Ball, I am in charge of spreading the word via social media,” said Jingco, who is a strategic communications major. “I am the communicator of information. This includes making the Facebook page, advertising the ticket sales as well as advertising the different giveaways [an Alt-J vinyl giveaway and an Uber giveaway]. Part of my work is to create the description for the events to make them interesting and enticing towards the possible eventgoers.”

With all of the hard work and planning that has gone into creating the event, SEAC members are excited to finally be able to share it with other students.

“I am extremely excited about Fall Ball,” Jingco said. The venue “has something for everyone. The best part will be to see people enjoy the event we worked hard to plan.”

And enjoy it they surely will. As Jordan Baker of “The Great Gatsby” would say, “I like large parties—they’re so intimate. Small parties, there isn’t any privacy.”

SEAC welcomes you to the Jazz Age.

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