Back To the Future

“I have crazy ideas all the time for these things,” says Khyentse James, the mastermind behind the popular, nostalgia-laden 1940s WWII Era Ball, the Voodoo Island 1950s Tiki Ball and the 1940s White Christmas Ball. “But only a few of them are actually doable.” What made the cut for tonight’s...

By Amber Taufen

June 13, 2013

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“I have crazy ideas all the time for these things,” says Khyentse James, the mastermind behind the popular, nostalgia-laden 1940s WWII Era Ball, the Voodoo Island 1950s Tiki Ball and the 1940s White Christmas Ball. “But only a few of them are actually doable.”

What made the cut for tonight’s 1940s ball? “We have a home-front reenactment station, so it’s all about what women were doing on the home front,” James says. Historical reenactors will give demonstrations; a tribute to the Ed Sullivan Show will feature live interviews that will also be broadcast on a big screen. You might run into Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra or a (’40s-era) Marilyn Monroe — and one of the premier swing-era entertainers from the U.K., Ricky Hunter.

And attendees will also see some old favorites, such as Rick’s Cafe Americain, with Rick and Ilsa and a roulette table you can play on. Also returning will be costumes, big-band dancing, numerous planes and gear, and a lot of fun.

“It really feels like you’re going to a party in the 1940s,” James notes. “Everybody gets dressed up — it’s just a magical night where people feel like they can step out of time, and you can’t do that every day.”

The ball lands at the Boulder Airport, 3393 Airport Road in Boulder, at 5 p.m., and keeps rocking till 1 a.m.; tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Visit 1940sball.org for details.
June 15, 2013

Amber Taufen has been writing about people, places and things in Denver since 2005. She works as an editor, writer, and production and process guru out of her home office in the foothills.

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