The Kuemper Ball Parish and Committee Chairs and several special guests will be gathering Wednesday, Jan. 31 for their kick-off meeting. In addition to regular business, a presentation will be made by the 2018 Ball co-chairs that will reveal the theme for this spring’s event. Though this year’s kick-off is not open to the public, the theme will be revealed right after. The 2018 ball will be held Saturday, May 5 with a new location this year, at the Kuemper Fieldhouse. The buffet dinner will be served from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the Fred Gazzo Band of Des Moines will entertain from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. They will be followed up by Kuemper alum Scott Masching and “A Time Of Your Life,” who will perform from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets for the dinner are $80 per couple and, of course, the evening will include drawings for more than $40,000 in raffle prizes, including the $20,000 vehicle raffle and the $10,000 ag raffle. The ball is the largest annual fundraiser for Kuemper Catholic School, and last year’s event raised more than $600,000 to be used enhancing the learning environment, upgrading of equipment, increasing teacher compensation, providing tuition assistance and offsetting capital needs costs.