The National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture is throwing a Halloween masquerade gala on Oct. 31, hoping a night of music and costumes can help rescue a holiday tradition it says is now running short on funds. The event, called Mystique Noir: A Masquerade Gala for the Culture, runs from 7 p.m. to midnight and will send its proceeds toward Ebony Village, the museum's annual Black holiday display.
According to The Sun Chronicle, the gala will feature dancing, a costume contest, a silent auction and raffles, with tickets priced at $161 and available through Eventbrite. The event venue is The Grand Chateau Owl in Norton.
Ebony Village itself is no small operation. The museum describes it as featuring more than 1,000 African American holiday figures — Black Santas, angels, nutcrackers, elves, carolers and ornaments among them — alongside interactive exhibits and historical panels, according to the National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture. The display sits inside Emerald Square Mall at 999 S. Washington St. in North Attleboro.
A Display Facing Funding Pressure
On its website, the museum states plainly that it is facing funding cuts and is seeking donations to keep Ebony Village going. That financial strain is the backdrop against which the Oct. 31 masquerade is being organized, with gala proceeds earmarked specifically to support the display.
The museum itself has existed since 2012 and calls itself the nation's second-ever, and currently only, brick-and-mortar museum dedicated to the art, craft, history and preservation of Black dolls. It describes its holdings as a collection of around 2,000 dolls, according to the seed facts behind this report, preserving Black history and culture through that collection. The museum says it is operated by a family and structured as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with a three-fold mission to nurture self-esteem, promote cultural diversity and preserve Black dolls' history through public education.
From Mansfield to the Mall
The museum's current home at Emerald Square Mall followed a move from an earlier location in Mansfield. The Sun Chronicle previously reported that the museum celebrated its new mall-based home and 20th anniversary four years after closing its Mansfield doors. Ebony Village is an annual holiday display at the mall.
That growth has come with ambition attached. The museum has said it is pursuing a potential Guinness World Record tied to its Ebony Village Christmas collection, according to Ocean State Stories. MassLive reported that the proposed record would involve gathering holiday decorations designed, created or engineered by people of color, framing Ebony Village as an effort to build a display where children of color feel included. Whether that record attempt was ultimately achieved has not been established.
How to Attend or Donate
Those interested in the masquerade can purchase $161 tickets through Eventbrite, per the same Sun Chronicle report. The museum says it can be reached for more information by email at [email protected] or by calling 774-284-4729, offering another route for residents who want to support Ebony Village directly rather than, or in addition to, attending the gala.
