Due to COVID-19 and current event restrictions, the VMB has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 28, 2022. Please scroll down for detailed information including ticket information. 

Hosted by Lady Raven Productions, Portland’s Vampire’s Masquerade Ball (VMB) is a black-tie formal event of Gothic elegance and decadence highly anticipated each year in the city of roses since 2002. The 18th VMB will be held on Saturday, May 28, 2022. Hosted in the Portland Art Museum’s historic ballrooms spanning two floors – it’s an evening where 850+ guests from around the nation and the world gather to socialize and dance the night away in their darkest formal attire while enjoying the best in aerial and stage performances, 20+ vendors, catering, fully stocked cash bars, and live DJ’s playing Gothic/Synthpop/EBM dance music. Catering will be from Vibrant Table Catering & Events, Portland’s elite catering company. Seating in the grand ballroom is limited and is on a first come, first served basis. Pictures from 2019 will be made available soon!

To stay up-to-date on announcements, please follow the Facebook Page, Facebook Event Invite and our new Instagram account. For any questions related to the event, please email Lady Raven. Scroll down to view all event information!

Re: 2021 Event Cancellation

[May 12, 2021]
My Dear Guests,

I’d first like to point out that I really appreciate everyone’s patience regarding the upcoming event. As with all things pandemic-related, it’s been a waiting game to see when large scale events can safely make a comeback. After multiple meetings with the Portland Art Museum (PAM), the 18th Annual Vampire’s Masquerade Ball has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 28, 2022.

How it was explained to me by the museum’s Event Directors, the Portland Fire Marshal’s office determines when a venue of their size can reopen and at what capacity. As of May 2021, per Oregon’s Covid Guidelines, Multnomah County is at High Risk. When the County reaches Low Risk, the grand ballroom will then be allowed to reopen for events, but only at a capacity of 104 people. As you all know, the VMB is an event of 950 guests. The PAM has subsequently decided to stay closed for large events for the remainder of the year. The PAM plans on fully reopening for large-scale events in 2022 as they (and myself) are very confident that with the aggressive vaccination rollout, events will once again be able to return to normal by this time next year.

To answer your questions:

What does this mean for ticket holders? All tickets have been automatically rolled over to VMB 2022 for the new date. You will be mailed replacement tickets at the beginning of 2022. The upside of managing and mailing the tickets myself, personally, means that I have complete access to the sales spreadsheets – your ticket information will never be lost. By next February, I will send a follow-up email notifying everyone when the replacement tickets have been shipped. Don’t worry, the coveted red envelope will once again appear in your mailbox around that time. Between now and then, I encourage everyone to follow the VMB’s Facebook Page for updates and ongoing community engagement posts throughout the year.

What about refunds? Ticket refunds will not be issued. Why? Funds generated from early ticket sales is what made it possible to put down multiple, large, non-refundable deposits both with the venue as well as event-related service providers. As you can imagine, booking two ballrooms at a massive historic venue such as the Portland Art Museum does not, quite frankly, come cheap. Booking the new 2022 date moved all of the 2021 deposits over to that year to lock it down in the venue’s calendar. Also as a general reminder, tickets have always been non-refundable, as stated on the website. It’s frustrating, I do understand. Personally speaking, I have $320+ in non-refundable tickets to see a band from Europe and that show has been rescheduled three times already – it’s ok though, I get it, we’re all stuck in this pandemic together and doing the best we can to adapt. 

What about the 9th Annual Vespertine Winter Ball that’s coming up in December? This impacts the Vespertine as well. That event will be hosted virtually on December 4, 2021, just as it was in December 2020. The event, while hosted virtually, was actually quite successful in 2020 with 430+ virtual attendees. The same platform (multiple interactive virtual rooms with performances and a virtual dancefloor) will be implemented again. So please follow the Vespertine Winter Ball for updates and information on how to buy tickets when they go on sale (Fall 2021). What about next year? The Vespertine Winter Ball will return as an in-person event on Saturday, December 3rd, 2022, at the Portland Art Museum.

Will you make the Vampire’s Masquerade Ball virtual in 2021? No, I’m going to put that event on hold until it can return in full force next year in 2022.

In closing, I appreciate every single one of you. As I look through my ticket spreadsheet I see so many names that I recognize. Many of you have been attending the VMB for well over a decade. Your ongoing patronage and loyalty fuels my continuing commitment both to the event and the community itself. I miss you. All of you. These last 13 months have been challenging for so many of us in different ways and for different reasons; but we’ll get through this and it will make seeing each other all the sweeter of a reunion. After being stuck in our houses after all this time, I can’t wait to see everyone’s fabulous and decadent outfits at the 18th Annual Vampire’s Masquerade Ball in 2022.

For any additional questions, please email vampireball@gmail.com

Always,

Lady Raven
Owner & Event Manager

The VMB is a formal event and is not to be confused with ‘costume party’. Appropriate attire includes tuxedos/suits, ball gowns, corsets, period-wear (Victorian, Edwardian, Renaissance, etc.), neo-Victorian, and formal evening gothic attire. Cocktail dresses are also appropriate. Are masks required? No, but they are encouraged. Guests wearing masks have always been around 60/40. For shopping recommendations please follow the Facebook Event Invite as we will frequently be making posts with helpful links on where to find appropriate attire.

NO STREET CLOTHES ALLOWED (blue jeans, t-shirts, tank tops, etc.). Also, while some risqué outfits are gorgeous and can be appropriate given the theme, we ask that anything ultra-revealing/exotic remain at home as this is a formal event. If you have any questions regarding the dress code, please send us an email.