2018 Crystal Charity Ball
The Crystal Charity Ball is Dallas’ biggest, brightest, and black-tie-est fundraiser of the year; but this year, it was also “an evening in the Alps” and felt about as far away from Dallas as it’s possible to make the Hilton Anatole feel.
The Chantilly ballroom and surrounding atrium were bedecked in fake snow, shimmering lights, and Swiss chalet-type wooden structures. Guests sparkled in their most extreme black-tie turnout of the season and crammed around casino tables with strong cocktails.
I, personally, was very excited that you could bid on silent auction items with your casino chips, but then Glenn the blackjack guy came into my life and took them all (i.e. I lost all the games). Granted, I only ever had whatever two purple chips equaled and in fake-money logic, that meant the only thing I could buy was some sort of stuffed snow-gnome. But I really wanted that stuffed snow-gnome. Other, luckier, guests got European getaways, Jimmy Choos, handbags, and home goods. One couple won a car of some sort.
All proceeds from the event benefited Dallas nonprofits working for children. The event took place Dec. 2, 2017, which means there’s a long countdown before we find out what next year’s theme will be.
