One of the highlights of Oxford for me was attending the Summer Balls. There are so many to choose from as quite a lot of colleges hold their own each year! The tickets are released quite early (around February / March) and you can go to an event even if it is not your college! The Summer Balls are usually held in June or July.
The Havana Nights Summer Ball was a Cuban themes black tie event. It offered unlimited food and beverages. You could pay to have a formal dinner before the event at the College Hall or just a general ticket to the main event. If you chose the general ticket there are so many food options usually available. You could get churros and hot chocolate, paella, burritos, pizza, curry, just to name a few.
After taking many photos and checking out the event we were able to watch professional salsa dancers. We could then learn to dance salsa with the Oxford Salsa club and after enjoy a live Cuban band perform. There were other rooms with live music, a silent disco and other activities if you didn’t fancy learning to dance salsa. Most Balls offer live music but each have their own theme.
As well as Summer Balls, you can also attend Garden Parties which are a similar affair but not quite as formal. They are usually themed like Summer Balls and offer a range of activities such as treasure hunts, dancing, face painting, ice cream and popcorn stands, Pimms and cocktail bars and a buffet. It’s like being back at a children’s party but for grown ups!
The atmosphere was incredible and I would highly recommend attending a ball at least once during your time at Oxford.