The 2011 Art Deco Ball

Did You Know? - The Observation Bar and Lounge (OB) was a first class facility at the forward part of promenade deck, a favorite of many passengers from bankers to traveling celebrities. Those who appreciated the atmosphere included the head of the Soviet delegation to the United Nations, Anastas Mikoyan. (If Mr.Mikoyan pondered the political message inherent in the subject of painting - all classes of Britons joined arm in arm dancing and riotously celebrating the 25th jubilee of the reign of King George V and Queen Mary, he might have been less sanguine drinking there.) The OB was generally described as a great place for conversation that had a spectacular view of the sea, but it was not used as a place of live entertainment. 

Did You Know? - The most characteristic North American fashion trend from the 1930s to the end of World War II was attention at the shoulder, with butterfly sleeves and banjo sleeves, and exaggerated shoulder pads for both men and women by the 1940s. The period also saw the first widespread use of man-made fibers, especially rayon for dresses and viscose for linings and lingerie, and synthetic nylon stockings. The zipper became widely used.

These essentially U.S. developments were echoed, in varying degrees, in Britain and Europe. Suntans (called at the time "sunburns") became fashionable in the early 1930s, along with travel to the resorts along the Mediterranean, in the Bahamas, and on the east coast of Florida where one could acquire a tan, leading to new categories of clothes: white dinner jackets for men and beach pajamas, halter tops, and bare midriffs for women

Did You Know? - Vintage originally related to the year a wine or oil was bottled. Then the word passed into general usage to mean the year a particular item was made. First it was used to describe vintage cars, meaning cars that were at least 50 years old. Next dealers of second hand clothing took this a stage further and used it describe older clothes. Now many sellers and buyers use vintage as a term to describe almost all previously owned second hand clothing of 25 years or more years age.

Did You Know? - Sepia is a dark brown-grey color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia.

The word sepia is the Latinized form of the Greek σηπία, sēpía, cuttlefish.

Sepia tones are used in photography; the hue resembles the effect of aging in old photographs and photographs chemically treated for archival purposes, an effect sometimes created on purpose.

Did You Know? - Hushpuppies (Cornbread Balls) are a savory, starch-based food made from cornmeal batter that is deep fried or baked in small ball or sphere shapes, or occasionally oblong or ring shapes. Hushpuppies are frequently served as a side dish, usually at seafood restaurants in the United States.

Native Americans were using ground corn for cooking long before European explorers arrived in the New World. Southern Native American culture (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek) is the "cornerstone" of Southern cuisine. From their culture came one of the main staples of the Southern diet: corn (maize), either ground into meal or limed with an alkaline salt to make hominy, also called masa, in a Native American technology known as nixtamalization.

Corn was used to make all kinds of dishes from the familiar cornbread and grits to liquors such as whiskey and moonshine, which were important trade items. Cornbread was popular during the American Civil War because it was very cheap and could be made in many different sizes and forms. It could be fashioned into high-rising, fluffy loaves or simply fried for a fast meal.

Did You Know? - Did You Know? - DEAN MORA AND HIS ORCHESTRA is the newest member of the Mora's Modern Music family, having been formed in 2006 to play the classic repertoire of the Big Bands of the 1930s and 1940s. This is the largest band ever assembled by Dean Mora: 20 musicians in all!: and has received great acclaim by dancers and big band enthusiasts alike.

The Orchestra has performed several times at Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club (a 1940s-style supper club located at the historic Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles), as well as having performed at the newly-restored Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park. 2008 promises to be a year of many more performances by this group, easily the most "authentic" big band in Southern California.

Did You Know? - The head (or heads) is a ship's toilet. The name derives from sailing ships in which the toilet area for the regular sailors was placed at the head or bow of the ship.

In sailing ships the toilet was placed in the bow for two reasons. First, since most vessels of the era could not sail directly into the wind, the winds came mostly across the rear of the ship placing the head essentially downwind. Secondly, if placed somewhat above the water line, vents or slots cut near the floor level would allow normal wave action to wash out the facility. Only the captain had his private toilet near his quarters, below the poop deck .

Did You Know? - In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis. Thus the poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or "after" cabin, also known as the "poop cabin". In sailing ships, with the helmsman at the stern, an elevated position was ideal for both navigation and observation of the crew and sails.