Lowry Hotel’s 15th anniversary fancy dress ball brings back a grand tradition in aid of Maggie’s Manchester
The five-star Lowry Hotel is teaming up with recently-opened Maggie’s Manchester to stage a grand fancy dress ball - inspired by an event of nearly two centuries ago.
The fancy dress ball on Saturday March 4th will be in period fancy dress to heighten the glamour of the occasion, inspired by a famous oil painting which hangs in the Salford Museum and Art Gallery.
The charity event will raise funds for Maggie’s Manchester, the newly opened Centre designed by Norman Foster and set in the grounds of the Christie Hospital, which provides emotional, practical and social support for people with cancer.
‘A Fancy Dress Ball, Manchester’ by artist Arthur Perigal records the 1828 event when 3,500 people attended a fund-raiser for local charities at the Theatre Royal in Peter Street, Manchester.
Around 300 paid to be included in the painting, and one of them, a local man, Mr Peacock, who appears in the painting as the Knave of Hearts, won the raffle to keep it. He presented it to Salford in 1852, and it was restored in 1994.
Lowry Hotel General Manager Adrian Ellis says his idea was sparked off by seeing the painting in Salford Museum and Art Gallery soon after he joined the hotel in 2014.
“The painting is so impressive and it got me wondering why we couldn’t do something similar today,” says Mr Ellis. “So I’m delighted we will be marking the Lowry hotel’s 15th anniversary year with an event which promises to be something very special.
The Lowry Hotel is the only hotel in the city centre named after an artist, and part of our recent £5.25m refurbishment includes purchases of original paintings and photographs.
So it’s fitting that the ball will be inspired by an artwork which is part of the history of Manchester and Salford.”
Tickets will be priced at £99 per head and there will be a raffle and auction on the night. Tickets can be purchased from the Lowry Hotel 0161 827 4000 and from Maggie’s Manchester (0161 641 4857 Emma Halman or Ruth Tobi).
Sinead Collins, Centre Head at Maggie’s, said: “Art and architecture are important to Maggie’s. Our beautifully designed Centre, which features artwork from the Whitworth Art Gallery collection, helps provide an uplifting and therapeutic space for our visitors to gather, so we’re delighted to have the link to this fabulous painting.
She added: “The Centre provides a full programme of support for people affected by cancer, including psychological support, benefits advice, nutrition workshops, relaxation and stress management, art therapy, tai chi and yoga. You can come and join parts of our programme, meet other people or simply sit down at have a cup of tea at our kitchen table.
Maggie’s relies on voluntary donations and proceeds from the event will help us support the 60,000 visits we expect each year so thank you to everyone who is coming along,” she said.
The Lowry Hotel is supported by the Royal Exchange’s costume hire department, which rents out costumes from 40 years of productions. Their costumes cover all periods from the Romans to the 1950s, with an extensive range of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian costumes. A reduced rate is being offered of £45 for hire of the costume which includes all accessories, everything from boots to hats. See https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/costume-hire
Mr Ellis adds: “We are grateful to the Royal Exchange, they have a truly amazing range of costumes which will help make the night a true ‘historic period fancy dress ball.’
We would rather guests not come in superhero or animal costumes. Thanks to the Royal Exchange, people can dress up in clothes inspired by Victoria, Poldark or Downton Abbey – or even Ben Hur.
We wish to bring back the splendour of that night in 1828 when the great and the good of the city attended to raise money for charity. It will be huge fun and all for a very worthy cause.”
Posted: Thursday 3rd November 2016
ID: 2911 - 1781
About River Restaurant
Executive Chef Dave Ashton’s menu uses the best local and seasonal produce that the hotel is famous for and creating classic British dishes to a high standard. His favourite starters include pan fried scallops with scallop ceviche, peanut, lime and avocado and A5 Wagyu beef with celeriac remoulade, ponzu and wasabi dressing. Mains include wild line caught sea bass with cockle minestrone, courgette and basil puree. Meat lovers will be delighted to see a Rump of lamb Cheshire Farm lamb with lamb fat carrot, roast onion, braised rib and mint sauce. Our famous sharing dishes of Beef Wellington and our 42oz Cheshire Farm Tomahawk steak.
The adjoining River Bar and Terrace encapsulates The Lowry Hotel’s fun-loving spirit at the confluence of city life. Here you’ll find in the intimate, informal surroundings a quiet place to network, drink and kick-back with a perfectly mixed cocktail, club sandwich, salad, or more substantial dish from our menu. The cosy Library is tucked away at one end. Open until late, this is a place to enjoy our signature cocktails.
Here you will also find Manchester’s longest bar terrace — an open-air first-floor terrace for al fresco dining where you can enjoy a drink or meal from the bar or restaurant. Open year-round, The Terrace is perfect for summer afternoon get-togethers in this urban suntrap overlooking the River Irwell.
The bar and restaurant at The Lowry Hotel provide the perfect place to relax and enjoy good food and drink, offering breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner on a daily basis, with a great Chefs Choice Menu offering 2 courses for £19.95 and three courses for £24.95 and a three course Sunday lunch for £22.50. Our Afternoon Tea is available for £22.50 per person or upgrade to our Champagne Afternoon Tea for £33.00.
On Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons you will also be entertained with live pianist and singer Kimm.
The River Bar and Restaurant as you know it will be closing in July but don’t worry, we will be back in September with a brand-new restaurant and bar, during this time we will be serving, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in our grand ballroom during this period.
Here is a short video of the preparation of the Watermelon dessert on this month's Chef Choice Menu.
