While a party in a barn doesn’t strike many people as a premier event, this weekend’s Blue Jean Ball, sponsored by West Georgia Habitat for Humanity, should draw quite a large crowd.

The annual event, which will be held Saturday, is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the local chapter of Habitat.

The official theme of this year’s event is A Night in Winter White, but of course that only applies to the top of the outfit. As the name suggests, blue jeans will be the pant of choice for the evening.

Though Habitat officials are hopeful, they are projecting this year that they will take in less money than in 2008, due to the economy. Beginning four years ago, the event raised roughly $50,000 and progressed to the point that last year the Blue Jean Ball garnered over $86,000 for the nonprofit organization. The goal this year is $65,000, or enough to fully complete one new home.

Despite the economic recession, tickets went quickly, selling out by last November, and there’s a waiting list for next year. At $100 a pop, and with 400 tickets already sold, Habitat is already two-thirds of the way to its goal this year. Hopefully, said John Ayers, president of the board of West Georgia Habitat, proceeds from a silent auction, an open-bid auction and a raffle will push the amount raised in the one night past the $65,000 mark.

Regardless of whether it works out like that, Ayers said, the night will make for a good time. All in all, the Carroll County community has already helped the organization continue to move forward in a time when many people are in need of a home and few have money or supplies to contribute to its construction, he said.

“We look for a great crowd. The weather is usually pretty decent, and we’re just looking to improve the housing market in Carrollton to people who need some help,” Ayers said. “We think it’s a very good cause. The community’s been so good to us in this area. We’re really blessed in that regard.”

The evening’s events will kick off at 6 p.m. at a private farm off Hay’s Mill Road. For the price of a ticket, patrons will receive a barbecue dinner and will be entertained by a number of live bands.

Both auctions will feature a host of items, including a trip to Mexico, several hunting packages and pieces of art among other things. There was going to be a mechanical bull but, as was the case last year, the company in charge of providing the bull canceled at the last minute.

Even without a bull, the night will serve to help Habitat continue its mission of putting people in need into a home of their own, said Charles Griffin, vice president of the board.

“We are filling a void between the lower income housing and the section-eight housing by the government. We fill that need,” Griffin said. “We’ve always filled a need for people who cannot afford a house, and now it’s even more important to them than ever.”

As the economy has worsened and the housing market continues to slump, Griffin said, the services the chapter provides have become even more in demand. Now, the chapter is seeing applicants who have good jobs but simply can’t afford to make a payment on a mortgage they shouldn’t have qualified for in the first place.

“A lot of people got a loan they shouldn’t, and we have people applying with adjustable-rate loans, and when they went up (on the interest rate), it threw them into a tailspin,” Griffin said.

For this reason, this year’s ball is one of the most important in the organization’s history. It will set the stage for a year that will most likely see the number of applicants continue to rise, Griffin said, and it is up to the community as a whole to give of themselves and give of their pocketbooks in 2009 if the organization is to succeed.

“Donations are the first key that gets us the funding we need to purchase land but volunteers are the backbone of what we do,” he said. “The Blue Jean Ball is our major fundraiser, so we do depend on that to get us out and running for the new year. If we have a good response for that and it’s profitable, we can really begin looking toward the future.”