gala ,
gala affair
jamboree
blowout

This is a gala affair, but there is also a sense of attending a funeral.

The opening was a gala affair, complete with music from a 55 piece orchestra.

This feast night promised to be a most gala affair.

"Happy new year, girls," he cried, then joined Daphne to leave for their gala affair.

Often before a gala affair, they attended a play or were seen at the opera.

At the time, I could not afford a gala affair.

The annual banquet was a gala affair with over 200 in attendance.

The marriage was a gala affair with people coming for many miles and staying for a week.

The entire office had worked itself up to a nearly hysterical frenzy trying to make me look appropriate for the night's gala affair.

They married in 2002 at a gala affair at an Irish castle, and soon after had a daughter.