BY CHRISTINE FERNANDO
After 22 years in the hair industry, Bridgett DiVohl, owner of Royale Hair Parlor, finds she now has time to pursue passion projects that benefit the community. Alongside Chelsea Sanders, owner of Blueline Media Productions, DiVohl’s next foray is the Lumiere Ball, an evening event that combines an avant-garde hair and fashion show, art installations, contemporary dance performances, live music, a DJ, hors d’oeuvres, and drinks. Her muse is mental health awareness.
“We want to celebrate life and confront the stigma that surrounds all aspects of mental health,” DiVohl says of the Lumiere Ball, which will be held April 13, just before mental health awareness month in May. The show, which starts at 7 p.m., will be held in the Fountain Square Mall atrium.
Tickets cost $20 and DiVohl hopes to attract 300 attendees. The organizers estimate 80 percent of the show’s proceeds will benefit Mental Health America of Monroe County, which offers information and resources regarding mental health.
DiVohl is in charge of constructing intricate hairpieces for 30 to 40 models. Everyone involved with the show, from ticket sellers to coat checkers, will have designed looks. Hairstylists from Bloomington, Chicago, and Cincinnati have volunteered to participate in the event.
Drawing from loved ones’ experiences with mental illness and mental health disorders, DiVohl is creating five scenes for the show. The first scene, Darkness, is a representation of depression, and incorporates darker tones of black, gray, and blue. Moving through stages of depression, the colors and tones change, often lightening. The final scene, Nous, has more light and color, which, DiVohl says, reflects one’s inner light and the support one receives from the community. The stages are general artistic representations of the mental health journey.
For those who may experience triggering effects during the event, there will be a therapist in a separate room to offer support.
For more information on the event, to purchase tickets, or to volunteer, visit lumiereball.com.
