Colorado Centennial Homeschool Ball
22nd Annual Colorado Centennial Homeschool Ball
When: Saturday, January 10th, 2026, 6:30-9:30 pm
Where: Douglas County Fairgrounds Events Center in Castle Rock, Colorado at 500 Fairgrounds Rd, Castle Rock, CO 80104. (See Directions page.)
What: We’re excited to announce the 21st Annual Colorado Centennial Homeschool Ball, hosted by You Can Live History!
This ball began over two decades ago (like many annual events, we missed a couple years around 2020) as an event to provide just plain clean fun for teens and their families who didn’t want to worry about the issues of modesty, rock music, inappropriate dances/movements, nor the whole guy/girl dating issue. The historic period from 1860-1876 seemed to answer all of these issues, since it was from a more formal time period without modern concerns.
We will be celebrating Colorado's bid for statehood from 1860-1876, featuring historic dances, including the Virginia Reel, Grand March, Hat Dance, and Polka. The young ladies will wear Victorian ball gowns or frontier dresses and the young men will be dressed as Victorian gentlemen, frontiersmen, soldiers, cowboys, or in other era-appropriate costumes. (Note: It was the Victorian era in England, which influenced the English-speaking world; in America it is better known as the Civil War era. At a ball in 1876 you would most likely be wearing the same ball gown you - or your mother - had in 1860, since clothes were homemade and hand-sewn. The ready-to-wear industry was just starting to develop. More history here)
You will learn about 19th century American culture and etiquette, all while having a terrific time enjoying a score of authentic period dances – ranging from waltzes to reels – all taught by a professional dance teacher and set to common 1800's tunes played by skilled musicians. Please make sure to plan your day to be available for the dance class in the morning so everyone learns the steps together.
This will be a family event with parents and young adults, thirteen and older, all dancing together. Refreshments of cookies and punch will be provided during the evening. (If you need, or can bring, gluten-free refreshments, contact us at [email protected] to be connected with the volunteer organizing that.)
We will have a maximum of 400 participants, so register soon!
To Register: Click above on "registration" in the menu bar.
Snow Date: There will be NO snow date unless the entire city is shut down by a blizzard (i.e. if DIA is closed down) therefore, partial refunds may be given only under these circumstances. We are sorry for any hardships this may cause. This is because the fairgrounds management will only reschedule our use of the facility, or refund our money, under those conditions.
Pictures from 2024 Ball:
The pictures below were taken by student photographer Owen McGough, and he took many other beautiful pictures throughout the evening. If you were there, look through the whole collection of high-resolution pictures; you may find some fun ones of friends and family, especially if a young lady in your family was introduced. Tips are appreciated for any pictures you wish to download; Owen's Venmo ID is @Owen-McGough
Buy Tickets
Doolittle Raiders Art Print
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Fine Art Print |
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"Doolittle's Raiders Heading for Tokyo"
The story:
Japan seemed invincible in late 1941 and early 1942, attacking and conquering territories all around the Pacific. Though America was still recovering from Pearl Harbor, Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle, already an aviation hero from WWI and between the wars, thought he could attack Tokyo by launching from the USS Hornet. On the stormy morning of April 18th, 1942, Doolittle led 16 B-25 Mitchell aircraft off the Hornet, earlier than planned since a Japanese boat noticed them. They succeeded in bombing Tokyo, but with the early launch, none of the aircraft reached Chiang Kai-Shek as planned. Some crews were captured by the Japanese. Doolittle thought the raid a failure, but in fact, seeing enemy aircraft over the homeland was such a blow to Japan that the best Japanese units were brought back to Japan to protect the Emperor. Much of the rest of the war was thus fought against Japanese reserve units and recruits.
The print:
Limited edition (50) print of original artwork by Ewan Tallentire. The style of art could be said to be a true caricature (not a cartoon) since the B-25 is drawn with slight exaggeration to bring out its character. Ewan started with simple caricatures for t-shirts, but found himself putting more and more detail and background into them. Eventually he did a series of art prints turning the caricatures into serious aviation art.
Print details:
The printing is high quality on acid-free stock. Size is 8" x 10" with approximately 1/8" white border. Shipped flat with cardboard backing. The print does not come framed but is suitable for framing.
