Masquerade Ball raises over £6,000 to help Harrogate primary school renovate playground

Over 160 guests attended the fabulous night at the Cedar Court Hotel which was the brainchild of Susie Vaughan, who owns and runs local entertainment company Enchantica’s, with a reputation for creating magical events full of delight and surprise, and it delivered just that on the evening.

There was a welcome reception with a twist, opera performances and the Masked DJ kept the dance floor full all night long.

The night was supported by local young musicians The Flame celebrating their first professional gig in public, along with Jessica Brewis Photography, all of who are pupils at St Aidans High School and many who went to Oatlands when they were younger.

The evening was compared by local Hotelier Simon Cotton, who also ran the charity auction which raised more than £6,000 on the night.

The fundraising event came about when the school asked the Parents Teacher Association (PTA) to help raise funds towards a new playground.

Zoe Anderson, Headteacher at Oatlands Infant School, said: “The playground will cost approximately £50,000 in total to complete and we had asked the PTA for £10,000 towards it but with what we raised on Saturday, they may be able to exceed this target.

"We have some money ourselves to put towards the project and have put in a bid to the Yorkshire Causeway School Trust for the rest.

"As it’s such a big project, the plan is to have the work completed over the summer holidays, ready for next September.

"Oatlands Infant School are incredibly grateful to everyone who attended the Masked Ball on Saturday.

IN PICTURES: Here are 18 snaps of people enjoying events across the Harrogate district throughout the years

"It was an amazing evening of fun, laughter and entertainment which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

"Thanks to the generosity of those who attended, we have now raised a phenomenal amount to go towards our playground project.

"We look forward to the summer when work can commence on transforming our playground into a wonderful area for our children.

"We know that we couldn’t have done this without the support of Enchantica’s and the sponsors and we are extremely thankful for all their hard work.”

Suzie Vaughan, owner of Enchantica’s, added: “It was an absolute pleasure hosting such a spectacular night for such a fabulous cause.

"We were delighted to exceed our fundraising goal for the evening and it will be wonderful to see the new playground come to life thanks to the combined efforts of so many locals families, friends of the school and local businesses.

"It was another excellent example of how the community working together can make such a difference.

“We have received an incredible amount of thank you messages from guests attending and would like to thank all of the prize givers and the team at the Cedar Court Hotel for helping us to host such a spectacular and memorable evening for our community.

"A special thanks must also go to Phil and Melanie O’Boyle from Travelgate who kindly donated a £1000 travel voucher which was played for in a game of heads and tails and also to Simon Cotton for donating his time and also many prizes to the evenings auction and raffle ”

You can still make a donation by heading to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/enchanticas/872754#

MOTHER'S DAY: These are 12 of the best places to go for Afternoon Tea in the Harrogate district - as chosen by Harrogate Advertiser readers