Boalsburg Bicentenary Ball, Oct 11, 2008, Celebrating 200 Year of Community

When Columbus landed in the new World at the end of his famous voyage in 1492, he couldn't have imagined what he was starting. And still, his legacy in America has endured through the centuries and lives on most vividly in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, where his descendants in the Boal family preserve his Admiral's Desk and celebrate his world-changing accomplishments.

"The Boalsburg Columbus heritage is a living culture," says Christopher Lee, Columbus descendant and the eighth generation of the Boal family to live in the 1789 Boal Mansion. "To celebrate America's most important connection with Christopher Columbus, we will host the Boalsburg Columbus Ball on October 11," remarks Lee. Plans also call for a festival in Boalsburg's village square Saturday from Noon to 4 PM and a religious service on Monday.

In 2007, a film crew from Belgian National Public TV was there filming a documentary called "Expedition Columbus" to be broadcast to an audience of one million in Europe.

Guests at the October 11th Ball will sip champagne and taste fine hors d'oeuvres from area restaurants in the Boal Mansion's dining room and dance in the elegant ballroom surrounded by portraits and memorabilia from the family of Christopher Columbus and his descendants, the Boals of Boalsburg.


Photo: Guests at the Boalsburg Columbus Ball enjoy contra-dancing maneuvers under the watchful tutelage of Bruce Young (in back with microphone) and his band.

The Boal family story tends to overwhelm the casual visitor. The Boals are descendants of Columbus, Napoleon, Robert E. Lee, Richard Henry Lee (who offered the motion in 1776 that became the Declaration of Independence) and even of a St. Bernard - the namesake of the famous Alpine dogs.

The 219-year-old Boal Mansion has the material culture to substantiate this fascinating history, including Columbus' Admiral's Desk, a lock of hair of Napoleon, a book belonging to Richard Henry Lee with his famous signature in the front and even two pieces of the True Cross of Jesus Christ, whom, the visitor is almost surprised to find out, is not one of the Boal ancestors.

Lee jokingly refers to this incredible collection as "nine generations of deferred garage sales." More seriously, he says the museum "connects our guests with a sense of who we all are today as Americans." The museum hosts hundreds and thousands of school and university students annually, and was recently featured as the lead story in the new documentary series "Old New World" broadcast throughout the United Kingdom by England's BBC-TV.
 

Below left: Pioneer David Boal in 1789 portrayed by his descendant, Pittsburgh broadcaster Alan Boal.

Below right: Christopher Columbus speaks! (Portrayed by Bruce Young, musician, in the Boal Mansion ballroom).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Ball guests will be wearing the fashions of today, whether formal or business, while some will attend in Civil War or turn-of-the-century dress. A professional photographer will take portrait pictures of guests in 1798 parlor and the event will feature first-person speaking appearances by historical figures including Christopher Columbus (1492) and the pioneer David Boal (1789).

Everyone in the community is invited to this unique blend of people, place and event. Single persons also are encouraged to attend, says Lee, himself a single parent. In addition to champagne and fine hors d'oeuvres from area restaurants, there will be contra-dancing under the instruction of Bruce Young and his band, Smashing Windows (the name, not the deed).

 Tickets at $50 per person and benefit the museum's non-profit mission - heritage education, historic preservation and community involvement.

The entire village of Boalsburg will celebrate discovery on the weekend. The Boalsburg Village Conservancy is sponsoring the Boalsburg Multicultural Columbus Festival on Saturday, October 6, 2007, from 12 Noon to 4 PM.

To finish the long weekend, on Monday, October 13, the state chaplain for the Knights of Columbus will say the annual Columbus Day Mass at the historic Columbus Chapel on the Boal Estate. The small chapel has been in the family of Christopher Columbus and his descendants in the Boal family for centuries, first in Spain and since 1909 in Boalsburg, as a living tribute to the man who started the American experience that continues today.

For more information or to reserve Ball tickets, contact the Boal Mansion Museum at (814) 466-6210, PO Box 116 Boalsburg PA 16827 or email office@boalmuseum.com