Mix a drink and tune in to celebrate the end of Prohibition at the Bootleggers’ Ball

Still missing the Olympia Film Society’s late, great Repeal Day parties? Enter the Washington State History Museum’s Bootleggers’ Ball.

The museum’s second annual ball — timed in honor of Dec. 5, 1933, the day Prohibition was repealed and alcohol was once again legal — actually happens Thursday, Dec. 3. It’s virtual, of course, but at least that has its upside in this case: You don’t have to drive to Tacoma and, worse yet, drive home after sipping a celebratory cocktail or two.

“Last year, we literally had a ball,” said Molly Wilmoth, the museum’s program manager. “It was so popular that we wanted to do it again.”

The drinks will be flowing — as long as you’re ready and willing to mix them yourself. Cocktail historian Renée Cebula of Tacoma will share recipes and Prohibition lore, and guests will receive a list of ingredients and equipment needed to follow along at home.

And there’ll be at least one familiar face in attendance: Olympia’s Elizabeth Lord, who’ll tell speakeasy stories.

Lord hosted the film society’s annual Repeal Day Celebration, last held in 2017, so she has quite a bit of background on the era, but she’s been digging more deeply into Washington’s Prohibition history and the speakeasies that flourished from 1916 — when alcohol was banned in the state — to 1933.

“It’s been fun stepping into my researcher shoes again,” she told The Olympian. “Did you know that The Olympian Hotel was the place to go to throw one back and hang out with state legislators? It was a regular party hub all through our state’s prohibition, where the lawmakers openly broke the law.”

Cebula, too, will be telling stories as she guides ball goers in putting together the whiskey-based cocktail Scofflaw and The Last Word, with maraschino liqueur and green chartreuse.

Both were popular drinks during Prohibition, she said, adding that she chose to feature the Scofflaw because the word also dates to that era. “It has a great story,” she said.

Indeed, Prohibition was a particularly colorful era in the history of the cocktail, a topic that has fascinated Cebula since she was a teenager watching reruns of “The Dean Martin Show.”

“Because large numbers of professional bartenders went abroad when their work became illegal, many of Prohibition’s iconic drinks were invented and made famous in places like Harry’s Bar in Paris, the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London and La Floridita in Havana,” she told The Olympian. “Americans with money to travel brought home the recipes for the majority of what we call Prohibition-era drinks.”

Those attending the ball won’t just be sitting and listening, though. Dancing is part of the fun, with a distanced dance lesson and a playlist of tunes to set the mood.

That’s all very well, the fashionistas among you are undoubtedly thinking, but what about the clothes? Isn’t dressing up in period style the point?

Fear not: There will be a costume contest, with categories including most festive and most historically accurate. There’ll also be a session on how to design a 1920s paper doll, and Jennifer Kilmer, the museum’s executive director, will discuss the styles of the era and how they’re represented in the museum’s collection.

History After Hours: Bootleggers’ Ball

• What: The Washington State History Museum celebrates the end to Prohibition with a virtual ball including dancing, cocktail recipes and more.
• When: 7-9:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3
• Where: Online
• How much: $15, $10 for Washington State History Museum members
• More information: https://www.washingtonhistory.org/event/bootleggers/