Mayor’s Ball a reason to dress up for night out

Jitterbug, anyone?

Sometimes you just need to get dressed to the nines and dance the night away. Dust off the old black tie and slip into a tuxedo. Find a new ball gown and matching shoes. Go formal for the night.

And if you get the chance to fete new Spokane Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite, so much the better.

The third annual Mayor’s Ball will be next Saturday night at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, with cocktails beginning at 6:30, a gourmet meal at 7:15 and dancing to the big band sounds of Tuxedo Junction until midnight.

Tickets can be purchased through the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, 924-4994.

“For $40 per person you get dinner, dancing, a memento of the occasion and all the fun you can handle,” said Rick Wilhite, the mayor’s husband and the event coordinator.

No taxpayer money is used to put on the black-tie dinner and dance.

The hotel, a sponsor of the event, has put together a special menu to fit the occasion, including a tossed mesclun salad with sweet huckleberry vinaigrette in a wonton shell, baby gold squash soup with spiced pecans and crème fraîche and a choice of entree: a spiced hickory sirloin steak in a morel mushroom demiglace and accompanied with blu gratin and lemon broccolini, or a coriander-seared halibut laced with cherry balsamic blaze and carrot nantua sauce accompanied with mushroom wild rice, crisp apple chips and steamed asparagus.

Dessert will be a white chocolate raspberry-infused bread pudding with a fruit coulis and chocolate swirl twist.

“Our chefs really pulled out all the stops for the dinner,” hospitality manager Christy Nauta said. “They get to show off a little.”

Wine is not included in the meal, Nauta said, but can be purchased separately.

As if dinner isn’t enticing enough, Tuxedo Junction, the 12-piece band providing the music for the night, channels money to area music students.

“Anything the band makes over the expense of getting here with its equipment goes to send local students to band camp,” Nauta said. “We’ve had them play here for several occasions and they’re wonderful. People will really enjoy them.”

You can sample some of the band’s repertoire by visiting www.tuxedojunctionbigband.com. The band plays classics from the best of the big band era, including Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington and features Ernie Carlson on trombone and his wife, Judi, on vocals.

Ernie Carlson is a three-decade veteran of Los Angeles recording studios and has recorded with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett and played under the direction of such luminaries as John Williams, Nelson Riddle and Henry Mancini.

Judi has sung with such notable bands as Tex Beneke, Harry James, Ray Anthony, Les Brown, Bob Crosby and Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, was a member of the legendary Modernaires, and worked extensively at Disneyland.

It’s a recipe for a memorable night.

But it doesn’t have to be over-the-top formal.

“It’s a formal affair and we have a lot of people wear tuxedos and ball gowns,” Rick Wilhite said. “But it’s not strictly formal attire only. We have lots of people show up in sports jackets or suits.”

But the chance to get dressed up is part of the attraction, he said.

“My wife tells me that women like to get dressed up for other women,” he said. “That’s part of the fun.”

For those hoping to make a weekend out of the evening, the Mirabeau Park Hotel offers a $79 special rate on a room for the night.