Fall formal Esperanza booked at Minute Maid
This year’s Esperanza, the Rice Program Council’s annual fall formal dance, will return to Minute Maid Park, which held the event in 2002.
The dance, scheduled for Nov. 3 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m, will take place in the ballpark’s Champion’s Ballroom. Appetizers will be offered, but the majority of the budget left over from the venue will go towards subsidizing tickets in order to make the dance affordable for students.
RPC Formals Committee co-chair Michelle Kerkstra said tickets should cost between $20 and $25. At the door, prices will rise to around $30. Kerkstra, a Will Rice College sophomore, said the committee is still figuring out prices for Minute Maid, so the ticket prices are not settled yet.
“If we have enough money, of course we are going to lower prices to get people to come,” Kerkstra said.
Kerkstra said they considered a few downtown venues before deciding on Minute Maid Park but that Minute Maid was their first choice.
Lovett College sophomore Jose Hernandez is excited about the venue.
“The fact that it’s in Minute Maid park is very awesome — but it would be better if it was out on the field,” he said.
Although Minute Maid previously served as the venue for Esperanza, Kerkstra said it differs from recent years’ hotel ballroom venues.
“Everyone’s really excited about Minute Maid,” Kerkstra said. “I think it’s a really cool venue not just for girls to get excited about but for boys to get excited about, too.”
RPC plans to leave part of the stands open so that people can walk around. Kerkstra said the venue overlooks the field and downtown Houston.
Amenities provided by the venue include free parking, security and first aid. Kakkar said she hopes for a similar turnout to last year’s. Originally, the committee had booked a room with a capacity of 350 people, but moved to a 600-person room given the 580-person attendance last year.
Kerkstra said RPC will offer souvenir champagne flutes to those who buy advance tickets. Last year, shot glasses were handed out at the door and not everyone who bought tickets early received one, she said.
RPC lost $3,000 on Esperanza last year, but increased attendance by 200.
Kerkstra said the cost of reserving Minute Maid for Esperanza this year is comparable to the amount spent on the dance last year.
The financial strain of revitalizing last year’s Esperanza meant that Rondelet, the Spring formal, had to be canceled. This year, the RPC plans to do the same, sacrificing Rice’s less popular second formal dance in order to increase spending for Esperanza.
Sarah Rutledge contributed to this article.
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