700 invitations printed with reflex blue ink (cheaper because the printer was already using for another job), and 60# coated cover stock.
Throughout the years, we've hosted many parties, galas, and balls - each having a theme, charity fundraising, creative invitation, art gallery exhibition, and a musical presentation. Below are some highlights of that era passed.
FALL 1985
HALLEY-WE'EN COMET BALL - a costume party celebrating the upcoming return of the comet and impending doom on the earth!
700 invitations printed with reflex blue ink (cheaper because the printer was already using for another job), and 60# coated cover stock.
Inside poster (serves as abstracted map/directions); trifold, offset printed, reflex blue ink, coated stock, flat size 16"x10"
Each party event always included an Art Gallery showing and a mini-concert.
A Comet Mobile installation was hung from the concert hall ceiling - 40 exit-sign light bulbs (long, slender, with single-line filament) lit to glow orange.
The Halley's Comet Ball featured re-worded "Comet Songs" sung by Kayla Werlin,
and artist Kevin Turcotte's commissioned artworks adapted for the occasion, recalling the public's panic for falling debris from the comet and doomsday predictions.
Comet Scream, Kevin Turcotte 1985 16"x20" acrylics on art paper
Comet Lisa, Kevin Turcotte 1985 16"x20" acrylics on art paper
Party-goer Pictures
(Bottom right, your host, replete with comet tail)
Camera-ready printer original, what's left of it 4 decades later!
And the musical celebration included re-worded Comet Songs (see last part of details below)
"War of the Worlds" 50th anniversary party
(a satire on Wells' famous 1938 radio play, the world being invaded by candidates from the upcoming US presidential election)
FALL 1988
"War of the Worlds" 50th anniversary party celebrating Dukakis/Bush Election year, illustration by Kevin Turcotte
Printed (economically) 4-color (twice thru a 2-color offset press, using the printer's ink du jour), 11x17 uncoated text stock, to mimic period comic book covers.
Convivial Pursuit - Red & Black Valentine's Ball
Game board invitation (in the shape of a heart, mimicking Trivial Pursuit), with insert question/answer card which revealed the details about the party.
Hand-assembled, never to be attempted again! (20 hours!)
Party Invitation - Convivial Pursuit Game Board. The rectangle in the lower left had a slit cut to hold the game cards (that had the party information printed on them telling the time, attire, etc.)
Murder Mystery Valentine's Ball - 1986
"Newspaper" (next morning's edition) handed out as guests left the party, to explain the murder plot summary.
9 elaborate "scenes" were acted by a cast of 10 which each gave hints for the murder plot. Our favorite was the seance scene. Party Goers submitted their guess on ballots and a prize was awarded for the correct murder ID.
The second murder happened during the Heart Songs (there's always a musical presentation of some type at these parties) "Killing Me Softly" (sung by Kayla Werlin).
The Art Gallery featured commissioned works by artist Kevin Turcotte.
Murder Mystery Shipping Magnate Jonathan Frederick Walker III, Kevin Turcotte 1985 16"x20" watercolor on illustrator board
-1986-watercolor-on-art-paper-.jpg)
The Seance (Murder Mystery), Kevin Turcotte 1985 16"x20" watercolor on art paper
Coroner's Report - Handed out a little while into the party (albeit somewhat anachronistic)
TABLOID AFFAIR PARTY FALL 1984
The backstory for this 1984 party: Supermarket tabloid "newspapers" that featured outrageous claims and stories were in vogue at the time, so this party invitation was a play on tabloids' ludicrous storylines.
On my way to work at DEC, I had just dropped off at the printers the camera-ready artboards for the invitation(below), and arrived in my office to learn that our administrator's husband had just died overnight. The original headline for the invitation was: Message from Dead Husband Appears on Answering Machine! (with my tagline added: to remind the wife not to be late for the party)
So I quicky excused myself
and ran to the supermarket and purchased a current edition of Weekly World News (from which i adapted the stories in the invitation).
I hurried to the printers and caught them minutes before they were to shoot the negatives (to make the offset printing plates), and substituted in the resulting main headlines you see below.
Fortunately it was easy to create and typeset the pun tagline of nodding off during the concert part of the party.
Based on Weekly World News Supermarket Tabloid.
1987 Gone With the Wind 50th Anniversary Valentine's Red & Black Ball
Party invitation was a (postcard) "ticket". The drill/die size was a stock size at the printers.
The Art Gallery featured illustrations and collages with puns on the Valentine's theme. (Heart-stopper [a stuffed felt heart as the cork for a milk bottle]; chamber music [a music staff winding through an illustration of an anatomical heart]; Heart-felt [made out of felt], Change of Heart [coins on a stuffed heart]; Heartbeat [Heart Metronome]; Broken Heart; Sick at Heart[an airline sickness bag])
1989 FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL Party
A celebration of the Berlin Wall's demise. the Art Gallery featured artworks by Kevin Turcotte.
Russian Gothic, Kevin Turcotte 1989 16x20" Acrylics on canvas panel
La persistència de la memòria - Fall of the Berlin Wall/Gorbichev, Kevin Turcotte 1989 acrylics on canvas panel 16"x20"
Illustration by Jiri Eckert celebrating the construction of the new house
Illustration by Jiri Eckert: 1984 Diagramatic map of house and surrounds.