TORRINGTON – Approximately 400 people – decked out in gowns, black ties and blue jeans – will fill the Rendezvous Center on Saturday for Eastern Wyoming College’s 12th annual Sagebrush & Roses ball.

For $75 a ticket, attendees enjoy a night of music, food and art, all to help benefit EWC’s agriculture and livestock judging programs. As in 2017, this year’s event will specifically focus on fundraising for the college’s planned Agricultural Technology Education Center, EWC President Lesley Travers said.

“We are still focused on supporting ATEC,” she said in an email to the Telegram. “We have $1.2 million left to raise for this building, with plans to break ground this spring.”

Travers, who officially took the reins at EWC in July, said she is excited to attend the event for the first time.

“I am looking forward to meeting more people, the attire, and just the event itself,” she said. “I have heard many wonderful things about this event, and I know it will be a classy affair. It should be fun and it is for a great cause.”

Attendees will enjoy no-host cocktails at 6 p.m., followed by a dinner of pecan wood-smoked bacon-wrapped filet mignon or sweet and spicy honey-glazed salmon with jumbo shrimp at 7 p.m., and finally, dancing from 9 to 1 p.m. with music by Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers Band. The Wyoming-based band has performed at the National Finals Rodeo and features EWC graduates among its members.

The ticket purchasing deadline was Thursday, Jan. 25. Residents who missed out this year are encouraged to plan ahead for January 2019, as it’s clear Sagebrush & Roses is here to stay.

“The people of Goshen County have been very supportive of EWC,” Travers said. “(We) are thankful for their continued support.”