Downton Abbey is the Theme for a Masterpiece Ball on January 5

Last week  a friend and I shared our enthusiasm for the upcoming Masterpiece Ball we’re going to at the Log Cabin. It’s a theme ball, we explained to another friend, about Downton Abbey. A blank stare followed. “Downton Abbey, the great show on PBS. You must have seen it. It’s sort of like Upstairs Downstairs, from the ’70s,” we explained.  Nope. She doesn’t have a TV. She has never heard of it.

That’s life in the Valley for you. But for the rest of us, I’m excited as are many DA fans about an upcoming event, a big formal affair, on Saturday January 5 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. It’s the Masterpiece Ball, where fans will dress in formal period attire, dine on a five-course meal, dance to an orchestra, bid on a silent auction, and watch a historic fashion show based on the early 1900s setting of Downton Abbey.

At 10 pm, before anyone else in the nation can see it, we’ll all get to see the first episode of season three of this compelling show on a big screen. The public is invited for this part of the show, just visit the WGBY website to register for a ticket.  FUN!

The show’s setting is Highclere Castle, an impressive edifice south of London where the Eighth Countess of Carnavon lives with her family, going back generations of English royalty.  There is a special Manor table where well-heeled guests will be served their fancy meal by uniformed footman, and each will get a copy of Lady Carnavon’s book, about life in Highclere.

For anyone you know who loves this show, or just wants a little 1900s elegance, there are still tickets available.