Prom committee prepares for prom

Photo by Grace Cheney

Students have the time of their lives dancing at prom. Prom is located at the Inwood Event Center and it was successful.

Olivia Williams and Grace Cheney, Podcast Reporter and Photography Editor

The annual prom dance is coming up on May 20 and students and advisors on the prom committee are planning and preparing for an amazing night. Planning prom takes a lot of time and commitment to make it a safe environment and a night to remember and that is all taken care of by the prom committee.

This year, the prom will be at the Inwood Event Center in Oakdale. The prom committee picked this venue because it is much nicer than the Myth and it can hold all the students planning to attend prom.

“I have been trying to get out of the Myth for years because it is dirty and disgusting. The Inwood event center is pretty inside and more formal, and it can hold 1500 kids,” prom committee advisor Dusty Dennis said.

Prom is a dance that only seniors and juniors can attend. Anyone younger or from another school can attend only if asked by one of the seniors or juniors. Since the dance is specifically for these kids it makes the night super special for them, but stressful for the prom committee to make a perfect night.

“[Prom] is the last time decides graduation where you will be all together in one place. Not in a school environment,” Dennis said.

The prom committee has been working hard on planning prom and getting all of the details to come together. They have been organizing and planning prom since the beginning of the school year. They have been meeting every week since September to plan a smooth prom. 

Prom committee member, junior Mikal Tekie, explained that she is most excited to see all the hard work that they have put in since September pay off. 

Prom planning can be stressful when it comes to decorating, booking a venue, dealing with guest contracts, etc. There are many details to keep in line and it can be stressful to make sure everything is getting done and running smoothly.

On a scale from one to ten on how stressful prom planning is, Dennis explained it is an “eleven and a half. The hardest part is dealing with the guest forms which are kids from other schools,” and that is stressful.

The prom theme this year is enchanted forest. There was a long process to decide and agree on this theme.

“One of our friends suggested it, she was on Pinterest and she was looking at different themes and she had a few ideas. Some of the ideas were starry night, magical garden, and fairy garden. We ended up agreeing on [enchanted forest],” senior Aliyah Adedayo said. 

“We all came up with our suggestions and then we had a meeting one day and we made a list and then we had a vote,” Tekie explained.

Prom planning can be difficult because it is such a huge, special event. It is such a complex event that only happens once a year, so it has to be memorable. Everyone on Prom Committee has to want to make it a special night and give it their all in planning. 

“One of the most difficult parts of planning is just getting everyone to be dedicated,” Adedayo explained. 

Prom is a night that everyone wants to remember and be a part of. Even kids on the prom committee are looking forward to going to prom. They all want to have fun and seeing their hard work pay off is just a bonus. 

“I think one of the most exciting parts is where you get to see who was nominated [for prom King and Queen] and who gets to become the position,” Adedayo explained. 

“We’ll get to see all of the dresses and see everyone’s outfit. I’m excited to see what people put together,” Adedayo added.

Tickets are being sold differently this year. In past years, tickets have been sold in different ways to accommodate different factors that affect sales.

Dennis explained tickets this year were not “tiered pricing, like starting at $45, then $50, then $55. The reason for tiered pricing is so people do not wait until the last minute to buy tickets. We tier so people try and get them early and spread out versus everybody trying at the end and waiting in line,” but tiered pricing can be considered unfair due to people maybe not being informed, or other reasons.

“Ticket sales are different this year. Last year we did online tickets through the hometown app or something. This year you buy a physical ticket,” Adedayo added.

With Prom being under control by the prom committee, they are hoping for a great turnout. Prom should be a night students will never forget.