The Center for the Environment’s Fourth Annual Ugly Bug Ball, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2, will feature a local farm-fresh dinner and dancing ’til midnight.
The event will begin at 6:30 with a stroll through the Elizabeth Stanback Wildlife Garden at the back of the Center for the Environment building on the Catawba College campus and will conclude with dancing to the melodies of “Sweet Dreams.” As in the past, participants are urged “to leave their ties and heels at home” and don “snappy casual attire.”
Marianna Swaim, co-chair of the Ugly Bug Ball Planning Committee, notes that the premise behind the Ugly Bug Ball through the years has always been to raise funds to help support the educational goals of the Center. “We’re especially excited this year because our theme is “Stay Local, Go Green, Reuse, Recycle,” she says.
“We want to promote our local community, which includes our local farmers and businesses,” she adds. “The theme reflects our intention to stay close to home, support one another and be good stewards of this earth, which ties into the Center’s philosophy.”
In addition, Swaim says, “We’re going to have a lot of fun, and it’s obviously for a good cause that is very close to our hearts.”
Leigh Ann Loeblein also serves as a co-chair of the Ugly Bug Ball Planning Committee. Members include Elisa Alfieri, Sheila Armstrong, Heather Boyd, Susan Cloninger, Judy Currin, Tracey and Seamus Donaldson, Robin Fisher, Sue Fisher, Lillian Gascoigne, Joyce and Joel Goodwin, Henrietta Henderlite, Neely Laurens, Tom Loeblein, Jim McDermott, Bev and Jim Mitchell, Elizabeth Norvell, Susan Norvell, Clyde Overcash, Carolyn and Dewey Peck, Jolene Philpott, Camille Reische, Jill Rufty, Oliver Scott, Susan Smith, Alice Stanback, David Swaim, Annette Turner, Sherry Walker, Frances Weant, Brittany Wear and Tom Wolpert.
The cost is $75 per person. To make reservations, individuals may contact Amanda Lanier at allanier@catawba.edu or 704.637.4727. Reservations will be accepted until Sept. 28.
Anyone who wishes to support the work of the Center through a sponsorship of the event may call Jay Laurens, the Center’s director of resource development, at 704.673.4295. All proceeds from the annual fund-raiser support the Center’s outreach efforts to the community and the region.