Princess Ball prep Organizers of annual fundraiser hope to top $500,000 mark

Ball gowns, tiaras and tuxedos are being prepped this week in anticipation of one of the Flathead Valley’s social events of the season — the annual Valicity’s Once Upon A Time Princess Ball.

The special evening is held each March to honor Valicity Faith, who died of cancer in 2010 at age 5. The Princess Ball has become an important fundraiser for organizations that provide assistance to local families. Over the past eight years, the family-friendly event has raised more than $460,000 for charities through raffles, cash donations and auction items. Organizers are hoping to reach the $500,000 with this year’s ball.

Every year the Princess Ball serves as a fundraiser for one of three rotating charities — Ronald McDonald House, Montana Highway Patrol’s Montana Hope Project and Angel Flight West — organizations that helped Josh and Candy Faith of Kalispell as their daughter battled leukemia for 2 1/2 years.

The Ronald McDonald House is this year’s recipient. One hundred percent of the money raised is donated.

This year’s Princess Ball will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at the Red Lion Hotel. Attendance is capped at 1,000 people, and organizers anticipate selling out of the $25 tickets by midweek; children under 2 are admitted for free.

Diagnosed with cancer a week before her third birthday, Valicity beat it back into remission once before losing her battle with the disease when she was 5.

Valicity’s original Princess Ball was held in celebration of progress in her cancer treatment.

“I called it the princess ball because she was my princess,” Josh Faith said in an earlier interview with the Daily Inter Lake. “It was a big thank-you to everyone who had helped us. As soon as it was over, she asked if we could have another one.”

It wasn’t meant to be.

On July 6, 2010, the disease took Valicity’s life.

The Faiths’ world was shattered. The bubbly little girl with a love for princesses was taken from them. Josh responded by bringing back Valicity’s Princess Ball.

“After we left Seattle, our son kept us going with his sports and school and whatnot,” he recalled during an earlier interview. “You try to have equal attention for your kids, but we had to focus mainly on Valicity. [Dominick] understood that. We brought back the Princess Ball and it got us out of a rut. It helped us grieve.”

For more information go to https://valicitysonceuponatime.org