APSU This Week: (Update) Candlelight Ball canceled due to coronavirus spread concerns
(Update March 12, 2020)
Austin Peay State University has canceled its 36th Annual Candlelight Ball, scheduled for March 14 in Nashville, due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Although we had planned extra precaution for the safety of our guests, hosting the event is not prudent at this time,” APSU President Alisa White said. “We are proud of those we planned to honor at the Ball and will ask our honorees to allow us to honor them next year.”
Details for refunds will be communicated on the Candlelight Ball website at , social media and email.
Also today, University officials suspended classes until March 23, when instruction will be moved online. Read White's announcement here.
Reported previously.
(Posted March 9, 2020)
Charlie Daniels, the Country Music Hall of Famer known for "sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot," helped reinvigorate that 400-year-old instrument with his 1979 hit, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” More than 40 years later, his influence continues to transform the music genre, and attendees at Austin Peay State University's Candlelight Ball this spring will get a chance to own a piece of country music history when the school auctions off a signed Charlie Daniels fiddle.
"Charlie Daniels is considered country music royalty, and the Candlelight Ball Committee is thrilled he contributed this amazing prize to help us raise money for Austin Peay scholarships," Nikki Loos Peterson, director of APSU alumni relations, said.
The signed fiddle is actually part of a special Charlie Daniels Band Prize Package, which also includes two dinners at the Palm Restaurant in Nashville, two tickets to a Charlie Daniels Band performance at the Grand Ole Opry, and two backstage passes to watch the show and meet the band.
This year’s auction will take place on March 14, during the 36th Annual Candlelight Ball at the Omni Nashville Hotel, with proceeds benefiting the Candlelight Ball Endowed Scholarship.
To learn more about the auction and Candlelight Ball, visit
Other campus happenings this week:
- The baseball team hosts Western Illinois at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11. Click for more.
- For more campus events, click .
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