Mermaids Christmas Ball 2023

BY GABRIELLE HILL-SMITH

The Annual Mermaids Performing Arts Fund Christmas Ball was held at Kinkell Byre on Sunday 26th November 2023. Notoriously difficult to get tickets for, the Christmas Ball is one of the most popular events in the St Andrews social calendar, and for good reason. Although it's nearly a whole month before Christmas - and I am a staunch defender of no Christmas music before December 1st - this annual festive celebration is the final chance for St Andrews students to don their finery and party the night away before exams.

This year the night started at 7 pm, with a Mermaids-hosted pre-event at the festively decorated Union Main Bar, featuring live music from Emily Speed, Conall McKeown, Radhika Rohin and Elle Halle. As people milled about, chatting, taking photos, listening to the music and enjoying the festive buzz, the Union bar staff provided reasonably affordable themed cocktails, which were also available at the main event, although it was a cash-only bar at Kinkell Byre, so you needed to come prepared. I only tried the Santa Claus-mopolitan, which was a delicious Christmassy-named version of the classic, but there were different options, including a Jack Frosty, and a Caramel Scrooge. Dressed to the nines, in a variety of sharp suits and ball gowns, the ball-goers mostly seemed to stick to the theme of aurora borealis, the space filled with a swathe of glittery, sparkling outfits, greens, blues, purples, and of course, plenty of festive red and white. There were some fantastic outfit choices, and the compliments being fired back and forth were sweet and sincere, and at both the pre-event and ball we had the chance to get photos taken by student photographers to commemorate everyone’s glamourous fits. The pre-event was both a lovely space to get everyone in the festive mood, and a way to effectively manage the bus trips out to Kinkell Byre.

On arrival, the bus dropped us off just outside the main venue. The outside space had two food trucks, providing those much-needed late-night carbs. The venue was entered via the cloakroom space, which was well organised, and you were charged £2 cash to leave your jackets, before heading into the main space of the venue. The decorations were gorgeously festive; Christmas trees, fairy lights galore, wound around pillars, hanging from the ceilings, streamers and fabric in the colours of the aurora borealis, plenty of spots for photos and even a photo booth. The first 800 guests were given a free scoop of Jannettas’ ice cream, I chose the lemon sorbet, which was delicious as always, as well as a Fisher & Donaldson doughnut. I wandered around the venue, exploring the different areas set up, as the space filled with music from JazzWorks performing on the main stage, and people started arriving by the bus load.

I headed to the marquee, which was lit up like the starry night sky with low-hanging fabric filled with LED lights, where I received a complimentary glass of prosecco and watched performances from St Andrew’s resident acapella groups who were both fantastic (and no, that's not just my obsession with the Pitch Perfect movies talking). As more people started to arrive, The Other Guys got the party started with some Christmas songs and covers of pop songs (ABBA, Taylor Swift and a St Andrews-themed version of Katy Perry), followed by a fantastic performance from The Accidentals. One of the town's most popular (and rightly so) student bands, Raincheck, were the final live music performance before everyone headed to the main stage to dance the night away with two great DJs. At this point my platform heels had been retired in favour of flip flops as the dancing really got started with Kiki’s fantastic DJ set which was full of 00s/10s throwback bangers, followed by James Buckle’s set which followed a similar theme, but with more of a pop-dance vibe to it with some added (and necessary) Christmas songs thrown in.

On the bus trip back the driver decided to make his mark as the best DJ of the night (sorry Kiki and James) and played the 1998 classic ‘We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)’ by Vengaboys the whole trip before dropping us at the Blackfriar's bus stop, perfect for a pit stop at Shawarma House to complete a classic St Andrews night out.

There has been talk about the issues with using Kinkell Byre for events, as while there are ramps throughout the venue, the ground is largely uneven and sloped making it not very accessible and incredibly difficult to walk about in heels! Another issue I’ve noticed is that the female toilets always have a queue that takes at least 20 minutes, and the water seems to often run out, but Mermaids had made sure there were some portaloos to try and alleviate the strain on the venue’s facilities, and this event, in general, felt much better run than some other events which have been held there. Despite these concerns, there are plenty of reasons the ball committees often choose this venue, firstly, that it is just a short drive out of town, and secondly, and most importantly, that it is an incredibly beautiful space, made even more beautiful with the lovely festive decor.

I had high expectations based on the Christmas Ball’s popularity, and Mermaids did not disappoint. It was a beautifully set up, well-run event with great live music and fun DJ sets, free goodies, and plenty of photo opportunities, and everyone I chatted with seemed to be enjoying themselves in a welcome break from assessments and revision. The theme aurora borealis was an apt choice, evoking colourful wintery wonder, and reminding everyone of the brilliant shows of the aurora we have been getting in St Andrews recently!