Masquerade Ball 2012 - Ayr Town Hall.

The argument that Ayrshire can be a bit of a cultural wasteland is one that I have paid lips service to myself.
Apart from 'the Bard' we often seem to fail to extol the virtues of the arts and support them in any meaningful way.
Usually it is my knee jerk reaction to a failed venture that leads me to rant about a perceived disinterest in anything with cultural value.
The bookshop in Kilmarnock that stumbled due to the lack of patronage was one such catalyst.
Oh, my wrath at my fellow man over that debacle was loud and thunderous.
I often bemoan the ongoing poor attendance of events that EAC have arranged.
That's a particular pet hate.
My heart wept at the lack of interest in a production of Hamlet that visited the Palace Theatre.
The flip side of the coin is that it's not all doom and gloom though.
An international food market that has visited Ayrshire has been a huge success with locals sampling edible delights from every corner of the globe imaginable.
Then there has also been the success of Hipshot theatre who took a sort of punk ethic to performances of self penned plays and threw them into local hostelries to great acclaim.
The latest laudable attempt to entertain is a fantastical vision of an update of the 'Masquerade Ball'.
This event is taking place on Saturday 12th of May in Ayr's Town Hall, and features and array of talent.
Ayrshire's very own Melisa Kelly and the Harmless Thieves will be there to provide an eclectic mix of blues and soul influences rock and roll that will be sure to get the party started.
There is also an appearance from some members of the Royal Conservatoire going under the name of The Una Notte String Orchestra who will provide a touch of class to proceedings, but that's not all.
The staff of the Berkley Hotel will also be making their presence felt by providing an elegant buffet for the patrons of this fine evening.
What else could anyone wish for?
A bit of theatre?
Okay. You've twisted their arm. You can have some theatre to.
How about we get a bit ridiculous and demand a bouncy bar just for a laugh?
Okay they've sourced one.
(Damn. I should have asked for a night with some Hollywood starlet.)
I suspect that Ayrshire has never seen anything like this before.
I sincerely wish everyone involved in it my best wishes as we could do with our own midsummer nights dream that would provide us all with some welcome respite from every day life.
Tickets available here.