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It was a Friday night at East Palo Alto’s Four Seasons hotel and even with the presence of cleanup crews, groups of people still lingered for the 2024 Senior Ball, the first at this venue.
Whether it was the new location, or the music, or the presence of old friends, no one was in a rush to leave. East Palo Alto’s senior ball only happens once a year, and attendees often aim to take advantage of the full event.
“We were cleaning up around them, and they still sat in the lobby after it was over because they loved the connection,” said East Palo Alto Senior Advisory Committee Chair Paris Hill-Sims. “It’s a safe place, and they just felt good being out.”
The City of East Palo Alto returned to the Four Seasons for this year’s rendition of Senior Ball on Sept. 26, inviting over a hundred attendees for a night of dinner, dancing and one of the main reasons residents founded the tradition in 2019: social interaction.
On Friday afternoon, the area outside the Four Seasons’ lobby was mostly empty aside from a line of classic cars parked within the main roundabout. Inside the hotel, an event room was lively with over 100 residents, dressed in flapper dresses, tuxedos and cultural attire and mingling at large round tables.
Couples and friends posed at a velvet-draped photo booth; attendees listened to speeches and table-mates laughed around black and gold-adorned tables.
This year’s ball, the flagship event planned by the City Senior Advisory Committee, was themed “Crusin’ through the Decades.” It continues a years-long tradition that has evolved to invite more people, from both inside and outside the community, and explore new locations.
In past years, the committee expressed its desire to begin hosting established events, like the senior expo, a now-annual resource fair, and the senior ball which debuted in 2019 and went on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, said East Palo Alto Community Services Manager Maurice Baker.
“This is their chance to come and see each other, people they haven’t seen in a while,” he said.
In 2024, the advisory committee pitched to move the ball to the Four Seasons and the hotel welcomed collaboration with the city, Baker said.
“It’s important for seniors to be able to go to the Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto,” Hill-Sims said. “A lot have never been here before, so we made sure to keep ticket prices low, so people would be able to participate in their city.”
Following a dinner, seniors danced to live music and DJ sets. Some partook in line-dancing lessons from a community member.
“We hope that you take this time to get to know new people, reconnect with old friends and above all, enjoy every moment of this special night,” Senior Advisory Committee member Maria Teresa Fernandez said in a speech at the event.
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