Details are sketchy but it seems a group of local YMCA volunteers, vacationing in the Keys, came across the David Landeo Band while exploring the area's colorful night life.

"They thoroughly enjoyed Landeo's show and recruited him for the Charity Ball," said Randy Klinger, the Brainerd Y's executive director. "So we looked at changing the theme for the event and are bringing in someone with the expertise to provide us with a Caribbean flavor."

Normally considered a formal tuxedo-and-gown event, the Charity Ball this year will throw caution to the tropical wind, with Caribbean decor, pineapple and coconut appetizers, and warm-weather drinks.

The Y will even auction off a one-week stay at a five-bedroom, four-bath villa in Costa Rica to the highest bidder at the ball.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see a few people in Caribbean-style shirts and that would be just fine," Klinger said, although tuxedos and gowns will be much in evidence at one of the season's most formal occasions.

The sixth annual Charity Ball is scheduled for March 10 at Cragun's Resort, with a social hour at 6:30 p.m. and the live auction at about 10:15 p.m.

The David Landeo Band will crank it up at about 8:30 p.m. and will play 'til the last dancer heads for home about 1 a.m.

Landeo, who hails from Knoxville, Tenn., has been entertaining audiences for more than a decade with his acoustic guitar and engaging personality, he said this week in an interview.

His bread and butter comes from regular gigs in Knoxville but he appears regularly at night spots and other venues across the country, performing more than 300 dates this year, he said.

Landeo and his band -- Tony Ingram on bass and Todd Bryant on drums -- return about every three months to the Keys, where their "chameleon act" has attracted a large following, including vacationers from the Brainerd area.

"Our audience is more important to us than anything else," he said. "We want to give people something to remember, something out of the ordinary."

His play list includes many of his original compositions, as well as a sprinkling of cover tunes from Jimmy Buffet to the Beatles to Pearl Jam, he said.

He has issued a couple of self-published CDs under his own Dante Records label.

"With his laid back personality and audience interaction, Landeo engages his listeners into the show," said one reviewer. "This Landeo quality turns every gig he plays into a party the crowd never forgets."

Klinger said he expects about 400 people -- at $50 per ticket -- to attend the ball, which raises funds for the Y's subsidized, low-income memberships and a wide range of programming for members.

In addition to the Costa Rican vacation, the live auction will feature bids on a laser eye surgery from the Crosby Eye Clinic, a 10-foot water trampoline, boxing gloves signed by Mohammed Ali and several other collectible items.

Ken Thomas of WJJY Radio in Brainerd will serve as master of ceremonies and professional auctioneer Bill Mohs will handle the live auction.

The Brainerd YMCA plans to break ground in mid-April for its $4.3 million expansion project. All but $200,000 has been raised for the project, Klinger said, which includes a swimming pool, youth and fitness center, and new administrative offices.

Tickets for the ball can be reserved by calling the YMCA at 829-4767.