Once upon a time, many years ago in the land of Ybor, an odd group of creative artists and writers were gathered together by the great pied piper of the bizarre-o, Bud Lee, who wanted everyone to work on something that was serious fun, and they all decided to host a Ball. And so the legend of the Artists and Writers Ball began….

They scoured the Ybor City brick streets of the late 70's and found a few suitable architectural gems that were thrilled (mostly) to play host to the groups' vision of filling their buildings with costumed guests and artists and writers for a night of gaiety and frivolity and whimsical fun! O.K., there was a taste of debauchery, for these events were based loosely on the famous balls of Paris in the 1920's.

They booked fabulous, wacky and just plain strange bands and entertainers that ranged from the brand new "punk" sound to polka and big band, metal and Americana, and mixed in poetry readings, performance art, strip tease, theater, soap box rants, can-can dancers and pick-pockets to keep it interesting.

They wanted their Ball to be unlike any other Ball. They wanted their Ball to be 'participatory'. Each attendee WAS the entertainment, through costume, through action, through spirit.

The gang would meet and choose a theme or sometimes two or three themes and then meld them together. ('Little Calhoun's Hawaiian Circus for the Poor', Cowboys and Indians In Love, Bad Taste In Outer Space…)

They recruited pro artists and student artists and little children artists and non-artists to help create the unique, carefree and unstilted decorations, as well as the sounds and light for which the Ball became known.

People who attended spent hours, days, even weeks preparing their costumes. Some simply remembered to wear clothes.

And when they opened the doors…Whew! Did the fun folks ever come…

And when it was over and they were cleaning up the major mess left by the explosion of exuberant exhilaration, the Artists and Writers group asked themselves, "What were we thinking? Never, ever, ever again!" But like the pain of childbirth, after several months the memory of the hard work, exhaustion and funding issues faded and one night someone would say, "Maybe we could try it one more time? I have this really great idea for the women's bathroom…" And so it continued...

They turned the Cuban Club into a fantasyland for one wonderful magical evening every year and continued to do so for over a decade. And then they rested…

And now, it begins again…

Ybor got its Balls back!