On Saturday night eight young ladies and their partners traded their thongs, joggers and footy shorts for white dresses, tailored pants and dancing shoes in preparation for a night to remember.
The Forbes community has always maintained the tradition of Debutante Balls and looks certain to continue well into the future. A Debutante, which is French for “female beginner”, was generally a young lady who has reached the age of maturity and, as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal presentation.
Originally, it meant the young women were eligible to marry, and part of the purpose was to display her to eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage. For many years the debutante balls were organised by the Masonic Lodge or Church Groups but are now organised within schools. It appears that debutante balls are more commonly held in regional or country areas rather than larger centres and cities.
Modern debutante balls are often charity events and money raised from the event is donated to a charity or community organisation chosen by the participants. Proceeds from Saturday’s event will benefit cancer support and research through Relay for Life.
The group donated prizes for a raffle which was drawn on the night with Cameron Greenhalgh taking out third prize (a tool package), Jonah Little claiming second prize (a pamper package) and a very happy Christine Crawford winning first prize (the gardens dream package complete with wheelbarrow).