Mask this New Year's Eve in Wonder: the Anchorage Opera hosts its 15th annual New Year's Eve Ball at the Hotel Captain Cook.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Alaska This Month

Finding a way to celebrate the New Year isn't hard--with special gatherings, dinners and parties--the list of things to do is nearly, never ending. However, finding a unique way to start the year 2004 proves more of a challenge.

One possibility--for those who love to dance, eat and celebrate the arts--is the 15th annual New Year's Eve Ball, which will be at the Discovery Ballroom of the Hotel Captain Cook again this Dec. 31. There have been some memorable celebrations in the past, all of which have helped support the local operatic and efforts of performers. It began years ago. A couple with grace and style on the dance floor started something very special. Yes, of course, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers did that, too, but we are looking a little closer to home.

"The ball was the idea of a former board member," said Kari Campbell, administrative director for the Anchorage Opera. Rod Finkle and his wife, Mary, really move well on the ballroom floor.

"He and his wife are wonderful dancers," Campbell said, which prompted Finkle to start the annual ball in support of the Anchorage Opera. Finkle may not be on the opera's board anymore, but his legacy is still going strong.

Each year the theme of the ball changes. Last year the theme was celebrating the Chinese New Year and tied in with operatic performances scheduled around the New Year. There was a drawing for a $40,000 Mercedes SUV, as well as wonderful costumes and singing. "It was spectacular," Campbell said. Organizers hope this year's ball will tie in with the performance of Giuseppe Verdi's "The Masked Ball," which is scheduled to begin in January at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts.

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