Join the UL Lafayette College of the Arts as we host our annual Beaux Arts Ball on Friday, October 21, at 7 p.m. The Beaux Arts Ball celebrates the artistic contributions of our students, faculty, and alumni, along with raising important and much needed funds that support; student scholarships, student organizations, student recruitment, faculty development, faculty/student grants, publicity for public performances, exhibits and other events that showcase the College.

This year’s theme is FIRE, so let’s gather around the FIRE and support the UL Lafayette College of the Arts at our annual costume ball. Spark your inspiration with a little FIRE and possibly an idea for your costume or the coveted Table Decorating Contest.

This year’s SPARK Lifetime Achievement Award honoree will be Herman Mhire. Mhire is a Distinguished Professor in the College of the Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he taught from 1977 until his retirement in 2005. He also served as director/chief curator of the University Art Museum for 17 years, where he envisioned and established the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum. Additionally, he is the founding president of Festival International de Louisiane, the largest outdoor, free Francophone arts festival in the United States. Trained as a painter and printmaker, Mhire holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette (1969) and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arkansas (1972).  His work has been widely exhibited and critically acclaimed. Since 1977, Mhire has devoted his life and work to cultivating the Arts at UL Lafayette, the greater Lafayette community, and beyond. Through his many roles as a curator, artist, and professor he continues to serve as an ambassador of the Arts for Louisiana locally and internationally. Herman will be formally named at this year’s ball. He will join the ranks of our previous honorees; A. Hays Town, Elmore Morgan Jr., Joe Stewart, George Rodrigue, Keith Sonnier, Dicky Landry, and Eddie Cazayoux.

FIRE is the theme, the College of the Arts is the cause. Bring a new friend and catch up with the old ones as we dance around the FIRE.  Great music from the Big Band UL Jazz Ensemble, a delicious dinner served cocktail buffet-style, and more surprises await revelers who make it to this event.