Tickets still available for April 29 ball
Kaylee Ezard, the 2022 Beaux Arts Ball queen, will crown her successor at this year’s ball, “Beauty Grace & Elegance,” on Saturday, April 29. The Beaux Arts Ball is the premier fundraiser for The Art Association of Jacksonville.
The reigning queen is the daughter of Mayor Andy and Jenissa Ezard of Jacksonville; and the granddaughter of David and Joyce Thompson, Sally Ezard and the late Roger Ezard, all of Jacksonville.
The 2017 graduate of Jacksonville High School earned a Bachelor of Science degree in applied communication studies with a minor in mass communications from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
While at SIUE (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), Kaylee Ezard was an active member of the Alpha Phi sorority, through which she chaired the Alpha Phi Red Dress Gala. This philanthropic event serves as one of the sorority’s largest events of the year and aims to raise awareness of heart disease and promotes research specific to women’s health. With Ezard’s leadership, the chapter was able to donate $28,000 to the Alpha Phi Foundation.
Kaylee Ezard is a lifelong member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bluff Springs and has been active in Big Brothers Big Sisters since she was 12. She has also been an active participant through the years with The Art Association of Jacksonville, participating in three previous Beaux Arts Balls. She was a flower girl in the “Spring Beauties” ball in 2005, a junior attendant in 2013’s “Hollywood Nights” ball and a senior maid in 2017’s “Pop Revolution: Revive the Movement” ball.
Ezard’s parents are longtime members of The Art Association of Jacksonville. Her mother was co-chairman of the 2019 ball, “A Night with the Royals.”
Kaylee Ezard is currently working for the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus as a member engagement coordinator for events and engagement. In this role, she plans events for Sens. Steve McClure, Neil Anderson and Chapin Rose.
Patron and general tickets will be available online at strawnartgallery.org and at Annie Merner Chapel prior to the Beaux Arts Ball on Saturday, April 29, where the coronation will begin at 7 p.m. Immediately following the coronation at Annie Merner Chapel will be entertainment by Kapital Sound and hors d’oeuvres at McClelland Hall.
Patron tickets are $40 and include admission to the reception, coronation and dance, while general tickets are $10 and include the coronation and champagne reception. An interpreter will be available upon request at the coronation for persons who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing. There will also be accessible seating.
Call The David Strawn Art Gallery office at 217-2439390 or visit strawnartgallery.org for more information.
Follow “The Art Association of Jacksonville” on Facebook for more information about The David Strawn Art Gallery and Beaux Arts Ball.
