Saved by the Ball: a family friendly New Year’s celebration

Sault Noir, the local entertainment company most recently known for putting on the successful Lopstock 3, Sweet Temptation: A Night of Burlesque, and Santa Goes Viral events is taking its most ambitious undertaking on New Years Eve.

Brendan Garlick, founder of Sault Noir, says he wanted to create a family-friendly New Year’s event that not only gives people a positive start to the new year but also raises money for local charities.

“Many cities around the world celebrate New Year with a 'ball drop' of some sort … most famously New York,” says Garlick.

“The intent is to create a new family-friendly event with that vibe that people of Sault Ste. Marie can be excited about.”

The entrepreneur says the most exciting piece of feedback that came from his company’s recent events is that attendees felt the offerings were similar to what could be found in bigger centres.

“Saved by the Ball is an event that allows young people the option to spend New Year’s in the non-digital world,” he says.

“It's a mix of live music and DJs. We'll have local band BookcluB [90s covers], DJ Seith [vinyl DJ], No Filter Records [First Nations rappers], Damaging D [90s DJ], and finally Angel Azura [house DJ]. We'll switch up acts every hour or so, plus throw in some special guests … it'll be mostly 90s-themed dance music.”

The event will also have built-in contests.  

“We're going to have a dance and costume competition with prizes.

The event will be held at the Machine Shop.

“It is a great venue because of its history and elegance, and because its large size gives a lot of flexibility,” says Garlick.

“The Machine Shop will be divided into three sections on the night of the event. The main dance floor and stage which will be all ages, an indoor 'beer garden' [19+], and the upstairs VIP lounge (19+).”

There will even be a “ball drop” that will be held inside the venue.

“We're currently building a giant LED disco ball for the 'ball drop,' although I'm not 100% sure what the final product will look like … Because we are a northern city at the mercy of the elements, having a 'ball drop' indoors means that people can focus on their costumes and dance moves,” he laughs.

A portion of ticket sales to the event will be donated to the Soup Kitchen and a local youth shelter.

“Recognizing that our Soup Kitchen and youth shelter are facing an especially tough year ahead, it felt like the right time to invest in our community,” says Garlick.

“We are definitely still living under the shadow of COVID and recent economic trends have made things much harder on everyone. Beyond that, it feels like there is a lot of anger brewing across the globe and we've even felt it here in the Sault … I recognize that 2023 has been hard on our community, and my hope is that people will look at Saved by the Ball as a way to choose positivity and optimism.”

For Garlick, the event also is also a way for him to celebrate personally.

“2023 was extremely challenging for me and this is a way to celebrate overcoming my own obstacles,” he says.

“Even if nobody else shows up, I'm going to have a great time.”

Save by the Ball will take place on Sun, Dec 31, 2023, and run from 8 p.m. until Mon, Jan 1, 2024, at 1 a.m. It will be held at The Machine Shop at 83 Huron Street.

More information on the event can be found here.

Tickets can be found here.

For insurance reasons, no bags will be allowed inside, and anyone under the age of 16 must have adult accompaniment (ID required).

Pizza will be available.