Annual Purim Ball: 6th

“Amusements. The Purim Ball. The sixth annual fancy dress ball of the Purim Association took place last evening at the Academy. This is a society of our Jewish citizens, who once a year give a ball upon a scale of magnificence and with a success that make it one of the events of the season. Last season, if we remember rightly, the ball was given in Irving Hall, but the large attendance demanded more room, so this season the Academy was thrown open for the guests of the association. Two such great masked balls as the Arion and the Purim occurring within a night of each other, certainly display a fondness for this sort of amusement even in the sober days of Lent that one would hardly look for in the mystery-shunning Anglo-Saxon. . . . The music was very fine, one of the orchestras being under the direction of Theodore Thomas and the other under Mr. Grafulla.”

The attendance was much less than in the years before. There was no special entertainment, no masked processions or skits. The three most beautiful masks received gold medals. There were many masks, yet the comical masks and the “domino” were dominantly seen. Mayor Hoffman and other well-known personalities attended the ball.