Having a ball

• By PAM BORDELON
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Oct 30, 2009 - Page: 1D

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Saundra Lane is a self confessed Halloween nut, so it was a natural that she would be enamored by anything to do with its celebration.

“Halloween is fun to me,” she explained. “It’s all about the theatrics — the makeup, the wigs.”

The first time Lane, owner of the advertising company The Lane Agency, experienced the 13th Gate haunted house, she just knew she had to get involved. When producer Dwayne Sanburn moved the production from LSU to downtown, Lane had a late-night idea on how to help promote what has since become the No. 1 haunted house in the country.

“It was a slow night at the 13th Gate and I knew Dwayne was going to move it downtown and I was thinking how we could get people down there,” she said.

Lane recalled a conversation she’d had with Don Johnson and the late Jimmy Staley. They had discussed her teaming up with the Krewe of Apollo on a fundraiser for AIDS; something that would be fun for adults.

“I was doing what I call ghost writing and it just came to me — a Halloween Ball,” said Lane, who immediately contacted krewe founder Larry Fremin and Johnson with the idea.

 The agenda called for a costume contest, VIP passes to the 13th Gate and dancing, along with the obligatory food and adult beverages. (You have to be 21 to attend).

“We wanted to do something for the children,” said Fremin, who has done emcee duties with Johnny Ayshen since the first ball in 2003.

“We paid all the bills out of my personal checking account and ran all the credit cards through my shop,” continued Fremin, laughing. “We had to tell everyone that the charge was going to show up as Four Seasons Florist. We’ve come a long way when you look it at that way.

“We’ve stayed involved since then,” he continued. “The krewe does the decorations every year.”

That first year the ball raised $5,000, which went to pediatric AIDS.

“We got 175 reservations at the last minute, which was not a lot but then the next year it doubled,” Lane said.

“It hit me that night that we were doing what Jimmy wanted, but it was sad that he passed away before he saw his dream realized.”