PARKERSBURG - A masquerade ball to benefit research into a rare disease is returning for a second year on March 29 a the Parkersburg Art Center.
"A Night Behind the Mask: A Masquerade Ball to Cure Friedreich's Ataxia" will begin at 6 p.m. March 29 at the art center at Eighth and Market streets in downtown Parkersburg.
Tickets are $25 and are available at McCrady Jones Nationwide Insurance on Murdoch Avenue next to Big Sandy or on Pike Street in south Parkersburg.
Photo Provided From left, Ali Gordon, Megan Jones, Anna Gordon, Andrea Papesh and Isabelle Stoops attend last years A Night Behind the Mask: A Masquerade Ball to Cure Friedreichs Ataxia. This years ball will be March 29 at the Parkersburg Art Center.
Photo Provided During the last years A Night Behind the Mask: A Masquerade Ball to Cure Friedreichs Ataxia friends Lacey Cale, from left, Hannah Cothern, Taryn McCutcheon, Breaunna Haynes, Amber Cotrill and Mykalyn Fallon hold Anna Gordon.
The social hour begins at 6 p.m. and the dance begins at 7 p.m. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA). More information is available online at http://www.curefa.org.
The ball - and a variety of other events over the past year - is part of the efforts of Melissa and Scott Gordon, of Parkersburg, and the family's efforts to help their daughter, Anna Gordon, who was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia at age 16 in 2013.
Through those fundraisers, the Gordons raised $36,000 for FARA in 2013 and have continued those efforts, while also raising awareness of the disease. Friedreich's Ataxia (FA) is a rare neurological disease that currently has no treatment or cure and affects Anna's balance and coordination.
Like most 16-year-old girls, Anna goes to school, has her driver's license, works at Subway, wants to be a teacher, and to make a difference in the world. She's passionate about supporting the effort to cure FA. Anna was diagnosed with FA on her first day of her sophomore year in high school last year.
Anna started getting clumsy and falling in middle school and her handwriting was starting to dissipate. On a family trip to the beach, she could not stand up in water that was only knee deep. It took over a year for the family to get a diagnosis.
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Masquerade ball serves as benefit