CELEBRATE THE END OF WORLD WAR I
AT OUR ARMISTICE BALL!

Join the Morris County Historical Society and the Metropolitan Vintage Dance & Social Club at a 1918-style Armistice Ball on Saturday, November 8, 2008, at the Clifton Community Recreation Center, 1232 Main Ave., Clifton, NJ, from 7 to 10 p.m.  Renowned jazz musician Vince Giordano will lead a six-piece dance orchestra assembled especially for this event.

What should I wear?
This is a chance to get gussied up!  Period 19-teens, ‘20s, or modern formal attire is fine.  So is modern cocktail attire.  So is your vintage or modern military uniform.  No jeans, please!

Who’s providing the hot jazz?
In 30 years as a bandleader, Vince Giordano has become the authority on recreating the sounds of 1920s and '30s jazz and popular music.  He and his regular band, the Nighthawks, can be heard every Monday evening at Sofia’s Restaurant at the Edison Hotel in Manhattan.  At the Armistice Ball, Giordano will be joined by Dan Levinson on clarinet; Ken Salvo, banjo; Andy Schumm, cornet; Dave Bock, trombone; and Sue Fischer, drums.

What if I have two left feet?
A workshop (included with your ball ticket!) on early 20th century dances will be taught at the CCRC from 2 to 4 p.m.  This afternoon workshop will help you master the basics of such ragtime-era dances as the one-step, foxtrot, tango, blues, and waltz.  It will be taught by experienced instructors Jan and Al Seabra, who teach classes in vintage dance in Bridgewater, NJ.  You’ll be a dilly of a dancer by the time you’re done!

How do I get tickets?
Reservations for the workshop and dance are $35 per person or $60 per couple.  Send a check payable to Morris County Historical Society to MCHS, 68 Morris Avenue, Morristown, NJ  07960.  You will not receive physical tickets; your name will be on the attendance list at the door.  All proceeds benefit the programs of the Morris County Historical Society, so you’ll have a swell time and be a swell guy (or gal!) all at the same time!

What’s this all about, anyhow?
The first Armistice Balls were impromptu celebrations of World War I on November 11, 1918.  The tradition of holding Armistice Balls around that date continued though the 1920s, dying out as the Depression worsened and a new war threatened.  This is a chance to travel back in time without going any farther than Clifton, NJ.

The Metropolitan Vintage Dance & Social Club is a private organization dedicated to keeping alive the social customs, dances, and other pastimes of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Members dance in the styles of the 1860s, 1890s, and 19-teens at events throughout the East Coast.  They, and the members of the Morris County Historical Society, welcome you!

Check back periodically for additional information!

Click HERE for a reservation form.