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Jupiter Ball promises evening to remember; proceeds to benefit children’s education fund

CHAPEL HILL -- Music under the stars is just one element of the upcoming Jupiter Ball, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s annual black-tie event held at the Morehead Building.

Proceeds for the Oct. 26 event will support the center’s educational programming. Tickets are $125 and available by contacting Carrie Anne Spinelli at (919) 843-7952 or spinelli@email.unc.edu.

The evening begins at 7 p.m. with a reception in the Morehead Rotunda. Guests will proceed to the Star Theater at 7:30 p.m. for a performance of J.S. Bach’s "Brandenburg Concerto No. 4" by the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. Lorenzo Muti will conduct.

Following will be dinner and dancing in the banquet hall, with music provided by the Bill Bolen Band. From 8:30 p.m. to midnight, and weather permitting, guests may view Jupiter – the largest planet in the solar system, 318 times as massive as Earth – and the stars through the Morehead Observatory telescope.

Honored guests for the evening are Charlie Gaddy, the award-winning former WRAL-TV anchor, and his wife, Nancy. Gaddy is the narrator of the new "Star of Bethlehem" production, which will premiere at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in November.

Jupiter Ball sponsors are Bell Leadership, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Carolina Brewery, Graphics Ink, the Laughing Turtle Inc., So Little Thyme and Wake Stone Corp. The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle is sponsored by Florence and Jim Peacock, Patricia Owens, Dorrie Casey and Archie Purcell.

The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center features one of the largest planetariums in the United States. For more information on the center’s programs, click on www.morehead.unc.edu.

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Morehead Planetarium and Science Center contact: Carrie Anne Spinelli, (919) 843-7952