Every Friday, Scarlet throws a party known as "The First Ward Ball". The original First Ward Ball's were put on by “Hinky Dink” Kenna & “Bathhouse” John Coughlin, the Alderman of Chicago's famed vice ridden First Ward. The 1907 First Ward Ball was perhaps the most widely reported. By the time the ball opened that year, there were 15,000 people jammed into the Chicago Coliseum. One newspaper reported that there were so many drunks inside that when one would pass out, they could not even fall to the floor. In addition, women who fainted were passed over the heads of the crowd to the exits.

As the event opened, a procession of prostitutes marched into the building, led by Bathhouse John, with a lavender cravat and a red sash across his chest. Authors Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan described the parade: "On they came, madams, strumpets, airily clad jockeys, harlequins, Diana’s, page boys, female impersonators, tramps, pan handlers, card sharps, mountebanks, pimps, owners of dives and resorts, young bloods and ‘older men careless of their reputations’…"

Inspired by the original, Scarlet's new First Ward Ball has weekly themes, numerous DJs each night pulled from the top clubs in Chicago, dancing across the bar and special guest appearances by local celebrities. There is never a cover and always a drink special.