To celebrate the historical monuments of mayor-elect Veronica Smith-Creer, including being the first female and African-American to be elected mayor of El Dorado, she decided to “have a ball.”
The “Let’s Have a Ball” event will be Dec. 29 at the First Financial Music Hall at the Griffin, in the Murphy Arts District, with VIP hour starting at 7 p.m. and doors opening for general admission at 8 p.m.
Smith-Creer said she decided to have a formal ball because the city “needs to celebrate.”
“I just felt like, with the historical aspect of it, that we should celebrate that way,” she said, referring to the ball. “And that it is a historical event, I think it should be celebrated in high fashion.”
Smith-Creer won the general election in November for mayor, shattering records and becoming the first woman and African-American elected as mayor of El Dorado. Smith-Creer, a Democrat, garnered 2,447 votes, or 50.4 percent of the vote, against Republican Bill Luther, who landed 2,360 votes. Independent candidate Trang My Lu came in a distant third with 50 votes.
Smith-Creer will succeed incumbent Mayor Frank Hash when she is sworn in next month. Hash lost the Republican primary in May.
“It was an amazing turnout of voting and this is just the way that I felt like we could incorporate us just coming together,” she said.
Proceeds from the event will benefit sickle cell disease research in honor of her sister, Vemetric Smith-Foster, who died from the disease last year.
“It was after she passed away that I decided to run for mayor, but it was something that we talked about for years,” Smith-Creer said. “She was still very much my motivation, so it’s a way to honor her memory.”
Smith-Creer added that donating the proceeds to sickle cell disease research is also a way to help people who are currently suffering from the disease.
“We have other relatives that do suffer from the disease, so this is a way to give to that research,” she added.
MyStiQ Entertainment is helping present the event with MAD and will provide the music. The CEO of MyStiQ Entertainment is an El Dorado native Terry Davis, who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Terry was one of the people that I discussed running for mayor with and he told me that he would have my victory party,” Smith-Creer said. “With the Murphy Arts District being new and him being a native, I thought it would be a good paring.
“Hopefully this will be a good way, not only showing off the venue and getting people downtown, but it will also be a diverse group of people, because it took diversity to get elected,” she added.
There are two ticket options for the event: VIP, $60, and general admission, $35.
Smith-Creer said people who purchase VIP tickets will experience a more “intimate atmosphere” at the ball from 7 p.m to 8 p.m. during the VIP hour.
Table reservations are also available for anyone with a ticket.
“You do not have to have a table reservation to come, everyone with a ticket will have a seat,” Smith-Creer said. “The table reservation is to make sure that if you and nine of your friends want to sit together, you can, because there are 10 seats at a table.”
Smith-Creer reiterated that table reservations do not come with the tickets, but you do have to have a ticket to reserve a table.
The event is black tie, and Smith-Creer added that they want men to wear tuxedos and women to wear evening gowns.
“I keep telling people this is not a banquet, this is not a dinner party, this is a ball,” she said. “So yes, we do want you dressed formally.”
Smith-Creer said this isn’t the only way she will be celebrating becoming El Dorado’s mayor, and will have other ways of celebrating for people who do not want to participate in the ball.
“I’m not quite the mayor yet, and again this is a pre-inaugural ball,” she said. “But once I do get into my role as mayor, there are a lot of other ways we want to give back and celebrate with the city at large.”
For tickets and table reservations, visit eldomad.com or call 404-542-1565.
Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].
