Montevallo Main Street hosts inaugural Monte Gras Ball

By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – On Saturday, Feb. 1, Montevallo citizens were treated to an early taste of Fat Tuesday.

Montevallo Main Street held its inaugural Monte Gras Ball at the Anna Irvin Dining Hall on the University of Montevallo’s campus beginning at 6 p.m. The event featured a cocktail hour, dinner and live music in celebration of Mardi Gras, which falls on Tuesday, March 4 this year. The event also served as a fundraiser exclusively for Montevallo Main Street.

Courtney Bennett, the executive director of Montevallo Main Street, gave a recap and some highlights from the event.

“We are amazed at the success of our first Monte Gras Ball,” Bennett said. “It was wonderful to see everyone arrive at the venue in such beautiful, festive outfits and masquerade masks. One of the highlights to me was seeing the end result of over a year of work by our planning committee, who have volunteered many hours of their time to call vendors, sell sponsorships and tickets, make handmade decorations, design graphics and all the other things needed to pull off an event of this size.”

Bennett is already planning for next year’s event, as this year’s installment quickly sold out.

“This event was sold out at 160 tickets, and the week of the event we still had people calling to ask for tickets who we unfortunately had to turn away,” Bennett said. “We plan to move this event to a larger venue next year.”

Bennett added that certain individuals made the event special, including the two King and Queen honorees.

“It was amazing to see our 2025 King and Queen, ‘Dollar’ Bill and Mary Lawson, and how regal they looked in their crowns,” Bennett said. “We had so much fun honoring these special community members as our first Monte Gras King and Queen—they have been such an important part of our town for many years.”

The event’s features, according to Bennett, each emphasized a different aspect of Mardi Gras.

“The evening’s activities seamlessly blended together as festively-dressed guests greeted each other, met with friends, enjoyed a beverage, ate some delicious New Orleans-inspired food and king cake and cut a rug to live music from Chuck King and his band,” Bennett said.

The event had three sponsorship tiers: Green, Gold and Purple. The Green level cost $500, the Gold level $1,000 and the Purple level $1,500. Each of these levels guaranteed a reserved table for six people as well as recognition, masks and other perks that vary by level. A King & Queen sponsorship at $2,000 and one band sponsorship at $2,000 were also available.

“Dollar Bill” and Mary Lawson were the event’s King and Queen. The Green level sponsors were Bradford Real Estate Group, Carr Allison, Cedar Advisory, The Charlie Snow Team – Keller Williams Realty Metro South, Dixie Decorations, Kirk Lightfoot, McNeely Media, Montevallo Chamber of Commerce, Montevallo Main Street Players, Su Casa Real Estate, Team Lehman Realty, Trustmark Bank and the University of Montevallo.

Bennett took the time to acknowledge those who played a part in setting up the event’s decorations.

“Our committee chair, Jackson McNeely, and her friends Amy and Michele did a phenomenal job decorating the venue,” Bennett said. “They absolutely blew everyone away. From the festively decorated tables featuring unique centerpieces, to the Mardi Gras-themed tree in the foyer… we appreciate their hard work so much and are immensely grateful that they lent their time and talents to this special evening.”

While the exact number of funds raised has not yet been tabulated, Bennett did share where the funds would be going to.

“These funds will be added to our annual operating budget, which covers nearly 50 projects that include special events, beautification efforts, grants offered to businesses, advertising and more,” Bennett said.

Bennett concluded by mentioning the aspirations Montevallo Main Street has for future installments of the ball.

“Our dream is to incorporate a parade into future events,” Bennett said. “Although we were grateful to host our inaugural event at the beautiful Anna Irvin Dining Hall at the University of Montevallo, we are exploring larger venues for 2026.”

For more information on Montevallo Main Street and its Monte Gras Ball, visit Cityofmontevallo.com/MontevalloMainStreet.aspx.

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