LET’S PARTY AS220 sets the lure for fun-crazed fools By Nina Mamikunian

AS220’s ninth annual Fools Ball is slated to be a party of biblical proportions. The theme of this year’s nonprofit fundraiser is Babylon, and AS220’s artists have recreated the decadent Fertile Crescent, transforming 115 Empire St. into a mecca of luxury and vice.

The revelry began May 11 and it continues through the week with music, mayhem, and merrymaking. The bands, games, and showcases of local artists have undoubtedly made this year’s seven-day celebration one of the most impressive yet.

The festivities will culminate this Saturday, May 17 with the raucous house party ($20) that will take over Empire Street at 9 p.m. The second floor of AS220 (115 Empire St.) and the Citizens Bank building (87 Empire St.) will be filled with performances, exhibits, carnival games, and hundreds of partygoers. A dinner and cocktail reception will start the evening, from 7-9 p.m., in the Citizen’s Bank building ($75). (The Phoenix is a cosponsor.)

Although AS220 will be keeping the party to the second floor instead of opening its entire building to the public, as in the past, the double house party will make up for any lost space. With two dance floors and two full bars, AS220 promises a wild night of fun. Fools Ball No. 9 will include performances by B-Lite, Riddim Foundation, Barkley’s Barnyard Critters, Alec K. Redfearn and Margie Wienk, Jason Pontius, Drum and Bass DJs from the Kat-Fu Crew, the Neo-’90s Dance Band, Smoking Jackets, the Broad Street Orchestra and others.

The annual Fools Ball is an integral part of AS220’s fundraising and community-building, bringing together a diverse blend of people who might not otherwise come to AS220. According to co-coordinator Lizzie Araujo, this year’s Fools Ball, despite a smaller budget, will be as grand as those of the past. Coming after the Station fire and the war in Iraq, Araujo believes that "still being here, it [AS220] still being a place for people to convene, made not giving up on the idea important. It’s been really challenging — still maintaining the scale of the event for half the budget. I’m proud of the community and of AS220 for being able to do that."

Araujo, AS220’s associate art director, who has been away on maternity leave this year, couldn’t resist when the nonprofit arts organization asked her to return to organize the event. Still not ready to leave her new baby at home, but wanting to dedicate an unsparing commitment to the Fools Ball, she brings her daughter to work with her. Though it has been difficult at times, Araujo, appropriately enough, has found the whole experience "enriching."