By Brandon Shields
Managing Editor
The Jackson Animal Care Center is hosting its annual Fur Ball on April 13, and the event, which has been around for about a decade now, is taking on a new look compared to recent years.
The event is moving to Downtown Jackson to a new venue called The Stella, 209 North Church Street, and it will have a 1920s speakeasy feel to it.
“We wanted to do something different and something fun, and this felt like something that a lot of people would enjoy,” said Whitney Owen, the director of the animal care center. “It’s a great way to bring people downtown to have some fun, and even if our main time for the party – from 7-11 p.m., isn’t enough fun for you, there’s an after party just around the corner at The Tavern to keep the party going for those who want to do that.”
The admission for the event is $100, which is good for dinner and an evening of dancing and entertainment.
There will be a cigar lounge and a whiskey pull also at the event.
“The whiskey pull adds to the ‘something different’ about the event,” Owen said. “You pay $25, and we pull a bottle of whiskey wrapped up, and you don’t find out what it is until you open it.
“You could get something that’s not worth $25 and it doesn’t feel like you’ve won, or you could pull something that’s worth a lot more than $25 and you feel like a winner.”
The event, which has featured other unique events like a roast of Mayor Scott Conger two years ago, is one of the main fundraisers of the year for the animal care center.
The City of Jackson funds the day-to-day operations of the center, which means paying staff and paying the bills for electricity, water, etc. The center hosts fundraisers like this one to fund medical care such as emergency surgeries for injured animals brought to the center or spays and neuters.
“Almost everybody loves animals, and everybody loves to have fun,” Owen said. “So we hope that people will want to come have fun and help animals at the same time.”
Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news
