The Masquerade Ball

Prelude

The Masquerade Ball is a social capsuleer gathering organized by Knight Steffanie Saissore. the purpose is to allow capsuleers of widely different background to mingle beyond the commchannels. The masking helps with this as it'll leaves you guessing who all attend, reducing any potential friction between attendants.
This is the second time the Masquerade in its current form is organized, following up on the success of last year, where people had a good time and no serious incidents were reported.

The event itself is invite only with guests allowing to bring one additional person if they desire, allowing Steffanie Saissore to have control over who can attend the event and keep out troublemakers. You can read her announcement here: 'Second Annual Masquerade', the time of the event would be 18H on the 1st of November.
The location of the event itself was Miss Saissore's converted Navy Megathron battleship, docked at the Kaalakiota Factory in the Ichoriya system.
Requirements for attending was straightforward: wear formal clothing and a mask. No weapons allowed on ground of capsuleers being troublemakers when the situation arises. All guests also need to have an invitation, or be accompanied by someone who had received one. Background had little effect, as you only needed to confirm you wanted to receive an invite, albeit known troublemakers would be refused one.

The Masquerade Ball

The Masquerade Ball proved to be a very enjoyable party, with a large masked crowd being present. This allowed you to enjoy the view of various, often elaborate costumes that many of the attending capsuleers were wearing, and the masks to go along with it.
The large crowd also made sure there was always a discussion that picked your interest, as a wide variety of subjects was being talked about. On top of this, it was highly likely you bumped into someone you knew from your previous travels or interactions through the Summit channel or otherwise!
One of the attendants, Leopold Caine, did cause quite a stir with security present when he pulled out a confetti gun. The security drones, devoid of any forms of humour, immediately instructed Mr Caine to drop the gun & follow further instructions. Luckily it was all resolved rapidly, but it was also a good show of the efficiency of the security present, allowing no deviation of 'Do not carry arms of any kind'!

The large crowd did make it at times difficult to follow discussions however as the murmuring of those around you meant you had to focus on your discussion-partners. Luckily Knight Steffanie Saissore had foreseen such ordeal and had two additional rooms for attendants to visit & relax.
One was the Salon, offering an enjoyable and warm fireplace, along with a bar, the other room was the Observatory, offering a moonlit starry sky , with blackened leafless trees bearing twisting & curving branches to set the mood for the evening.

Once the crowd was dispersed over the 3 rooms, people had a much easier time in catching up and having enjoyable talks. The main crowd did remain in the Grand Hall, where the main event was held, allowing people to use the dance floor.
Capsuleer Alabath Schmidt provided an enjoyable distraction  when she had grabbed a tray of cookies out the kitchen and then went on chases to offer these cookies to certain people across the Grand Hall, much to the amusement of those watching.
The dancefloor itself was a real hit as well, seeing various pairs dancing across the duration of the Ball. The dancing pairs also gathered quite some onlookers, who watched their dancing skills in amazement! Especially the dance pair Aldrith Shutaq and Mizhara Del'Thul gained alot of attention, not only due to their unlikely pairing, but also because of their remarkable dancing skills, showing an extremely high performance!

People obviously had a great time, if the various discussions are something to go by, from nullsec politics to the cuteness of Matari, and many more things, it all got brought up! I have to commend the restrain of the guests for not causing any major distress at the Masquerade Ball, as there was a wide variety of capsuleers present, causing some friction between certain attendants. But despite these frictions, nobody had a desire to escalate their feelings, save for a few vitriol remarks.
All this made for an enjoyable and diverse event, enjoyed by many!

Conclusion

It was a very enjoyable event, with a chance to mingle with people you rarely talk or meet otherwise. Also, almost everyone being friendly was a great boon, as nobody tried starting anything bad with people they disliked, probably encouraged not to by the security display earlier at the Grand Hall.
Sometimes discussions were hard to follow, but from what I gathered, most people didn't mind recapping little bits at times, to keep everyone in their group up with the talking. Keep in mind that at some point, over 40 people were present, most of them talking, it does require you to pay good attention to your discussion.
The various costumes people wore, along with the masks were also a feast for the eyes, allowing you to just enjoy sights as you walked from one room to another.

I thank Knight Steffanie Saissore for yet another successful Masquerade Ball organisation! It was a wonderful evening!