The Fort Atkinson Club will soon be hosting a dinner and dancing gala event in celebration of the community center’s 110th anniversary.
According to information provided on the club’s website, the center was built circa 1913 by a group of Fort Atkinson community business owners who, after incorporation, called itself the Fort Atkinson Club.
After the center’s construction, the club held a housewarming party in October of 1913.
According to information found on the club’s website, and attributed to a story published in the Daily Jefferson County Union in 1913, “the grand opening ball was attended by around 200 guests, who enjoyed a five-course dinner and performance by ‘The Imperial’ of Madison.”
In keeping with that history, and in celebration of the center’s 110 years of operation, the club will be hosting a dinner and dancing event on Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Fort Atkinson Club community center, 211 S. Water Street East, Fort Atkinson.
Those attending the event will find a cocktail hour planned at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.
A “Fund the Need” paddle-raise auction will commence at 7:30 p.m.
The night is complete with dancing, which will be held between 8 and 10:30 p.m.
According to information released by the Fort Atkinson Club, dinner will be provided by Fort Atkinson-based restaurant Mangiami Italiano and dance music will be performed by Marcy and the Highlights, a Madison-based band specializing in a variety of genres, including classic rock and roll, country, swing, Latin, and, band member Ken Heim recently told Fort Atkinson Online, “anything you can dance to.”
To learn more about Mangiami Italiano, visit the restaurant’s website: https://www.mangiamiitaliano.com.
To learn more about Marci and the Highlights, visit the band’s website: http://marcyandthehighlights.com.
Proceeds from the event will be used to “keep the building running for another 110 years,” information provided by event organizers stated.
Tickets for the dinner and dancing event cost $100 per person. Event-goers may also buy full tables at a cost of $500 for a table of six people and $600 for a table of seven guests.
The Fort Atkinson Club community building anniversary gala and dinner provides a unique opportunity for event-goers to experience fine dining in a historical building, complete with architecture which was once heralded as “most representative of the ethnicity and culture of the state,” according to information found in a 1913 Daily Union story and republished on the Fort Atkinson Club website.
Today, the 6,000-square-foot building offers three floors of entertainment space, complete with two kitchens. The building boasts hardwood floors, a wood-burning fireplace, and two regulation bowling lanes. Also included is a dance floor, two stages, a barrel-vault ceiling and cove lighting, according to the club’s website.
The building is handicapped accessible and guests will find parking options in front of the building on Water Street and in a public parking lot about a block away from the building between Water Street and Milwaukee Avenue, event organizers have noted.
Additionally, the website stated, on Dec. 2, 2016, the club’s community center was listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places.
As stated in information released by the club, event co-chairs Mary Jones and Kelli Rowley are looking forward to entertaining the community while it celebrates its historical landmark and raising funds which will allow the club to continue to provide free programs and concerts to members of the public.
As noted on the club’s website, the recently renovated Fort Atkinson Club community center is an independent, multi-purpose, nonprofit center that serves the community, its neighbors, and visitors to Fort Atkinson.
“Our vision is that this historic downtown hub along the Rock River will provide people of all ages and backgrounds a place to come together through education, arts, wellness, business, community events, and other fun activities, while showcasing the history, culture, and heritage of the area,” the website states.
To register online and purchase tickets for the dinner and gala event, visit the club’s event page on its website, found here: https://www.fortatkinsonclub.org/110th-anniversary-gala-dinner/.
Those interested in attending the event may also register through the following email: director@fortatkinsonclub.org.
The full history of the Fort Atkinson Club and its community center, as provided through 1913 accountings in the Daily Union and published on the clubs’s website, is here: https://www.fortatkinsonclub.org/history/.
The circa 1913-built Fort Atkinson Club community center will soon be celebrating its 110th anniversary with a dinner and dancing gala event. Contributed photo.
A dining area within the Fort Atkinson Club community center awaits dinner guests. The club will be hosting a dinner and dancing gala in celebration of the center’s 110th anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 21. Contributed photo.
Members of the Madison-based band Marcy and the Highlights perform from a corner of the dance floor within the banquet room at the Lake Ripley Country Club. The performance was held earlier this month during a dance held by Club 46, a 73-year-old area social club. Kim McDarison photo.
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