Our ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Carey Centenary Ball went off with a real bang at Crown Palladium on Saturday night.
We were absolutely thrilled that so many of our community came ready to celebrate Carey in style. There was a palpable energy right across the event and the fun and frivolity started from the get-go as our wonderful entertainer Mike Snell serenaded us all into the beautifully decorated Palladium room. The dancing started when the doors opened at 7.30pm and continued right through to our midnight close. The band Chunky Jam then took the party up a level, ably assisted again by Mike and his team.
We truly hope you enjoyed the venue, video, photos, entertainment, meal and beverages but, most of all, being amongst so many of your Carey community.
We also hope you shared the lollies with your young people and laughed as your mouths turned all the Carey colours!
Our Ball Committee was thrilled to see our long planned event finally come to life and see you all having so much fun. We are grateful to all those who assisted us in making this event happen: Our Ball Sponsors, Kay and Burton and JB Were, and the Centenary Partners, ANZ, Bob Stewart and Moores; the Carey Community Engagement team; the Crown Events Group; Encore for their AV support; our entertainers, Mike Snell Entertainment and Chunky Jam; and Gavin Blue and his photography team. Gavin is a Carey parent and was a guest at our event but made sure that you had the opportunity of creating visual memories of the night. Links to the photos taken on the night will be shared soon by email to attendees.
For those who struggled to hear Andrea’s speech, it is copied below and really highlights what we as volunteers can do when we work to build a vibrant school community.
If you have any feedback, would like to join the committee and work on future events, or you left something of yours behind on the night please contact us by email at careyball2023@gmail.com
Thank you.
The Gala Ball Committee
Good evening everyone
My name is Andrea Fragiadakis and on behalf of our Ball Committee, I would like to welcome you to the Carey Centenary Gala Ball celebrating 100 years of our wonderful Carey community.
I would like to begin our evening by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we are celebrating tonight, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present.
We are so lucky to be part of the wider Carey community and are delighted to see all parts of that community represented here tonight at the biggest event we have ever held. We have current and past parents and carers, teachers, Old Grammarians, current and former Board members and leaders.
Our current committee is made up of representatives of all school sections and follows in the footsteps of the original Ball Committee. Back in 2017, a dedicated group of parents had a vision for an event that would bring the entire community together. From the first ball in 2017, then another in 2019, tonight is a continuation of their vision and, from the turnout, it is clear that there is incredible support for events that bring us together.
We are delighted to see an important part of that original committee here tonight: Angela Valentine, Sofie Carfi, Suzanne Knox and Titilayo Adetunji, thank you for your commitment to the School and for starting something that is sure to become a long-standing tradition at Carey.
As the Chairperson of the Ball Committee, I would like to acknowledge and thank the dedicated and hard-working team of volunteer parents that put this amazing event together: Samantha Carroll, Tina Lakkis, Juliati Lie, Geordie Nehme, Ainslie Pettitt, Richard Thomas, Kirrily Turnbull and Ying Wu.
Over the last year these parents have put in countless hours, nights and weekends to put together this ‘Once in a Lifetime’ event, so please join me in thanking them.
As this is the centenary celebration, it makes me reflect on all the parents who have volunteered their time and passion to building the strong Carey community we have today. There must be hundreds of parents who have worked on school committees, parent associations, fundraisers and events. They often go unnoticed but in this centenary year, I would like to recognise the valuable contribution parents make to the school community.
On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank you for coming and for your overwhelming support of this event.
We hope you enjoy the food, wine and entertainment but, most of all, we hope you have a wonderful night connecting with old and new friends as we all share how special it is to be part of the Carey community.
Thank you.
