Prom season’s back in full swing
With prom season in full swing, dress shops are picked over, hair and nail salons are booked, restaurants are booked and juniors and seniors are ready to dance and create a memory they will never forget.
Blooming Prairie
Blooming Prairie High School’s prom will be Saturday, May 2, with a frozen winter wonderland theme. The grand march will start at 4 p.m. in the high school gym, and once that wraps up, students will load buses and head to Stillwater to get on a boat through the St. Croix Boat & Packet Co. On the boat, students will eat dinner, and the dance will follow.
Prom Chairperson Holly Naatz says organizers are expecting about 100 students to attend, and this year’s prom setting is different from last year’s.
“It is just the whole idea that they are all eating together. Last year they all found their own places to eat, whereas this year the whole group eats together, which is kind of nice,” Naatz said. “You just don’t have that transportation worry for parents. This year, that is all taken care of for them.”
Every year they rotate between a traditional prom, in which the dance is at the Servicemen’s Club and the after-prom party is at the high school, and the prom on the boat.
After the dance, students will go to Dave & Buster’s in Maplewood for the after-prom party where they will have a variety of games to play until 3 a.m., when they head back to the school for prize drawings.
Medford
Medford High School’s prom will be Saturday, May 2, with a picture-perfect theme. The grand march will start at 4:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium, and once that wraps up, the students will load buses to Monterey Ballroom in Owatonna, where they will eat dinner and have the dance.
One thing that makes Medford’s prom different is that the location changes every year. Last year the prom was on a boat through the St. Croix Boat & Packet Co. Aly Noble, student council president, says organizers are expecting between 100 and 120 students to attend.
After the dance, students will head back to the high school for the after-prom party, where they will get the chance to play games, win prizes, watch a hypnotist and play blow-up games until about 5 a.m.
This is Noble’s third year attending the prom. She is excited for the prom’s location and the 20-person photo booth. Her date, Nick Olson, asked her with a poem and candles that spelled out P-R-O-M.
“My favorite part is dancing all night long with my good friends and having a good time,” she said.
This will be senior Katie Ivance’s third time attending the prom, and she is looking forward to the dance and after-prom party. Ivance asked her boyfriend, Matt Borash, to prom because he is in college.
“My favorite part of the prom is the dance,” she said.
Dodge Center
Triton High School’s prom was Saturday, April 25, with a rustic romance theme. After the grand march at the high school, students went to the Somerby Golf Community in Byron, where they ate dinner and had the dance.
Prom co-adviser Allison Horejsi says organizers were expecting about 175 students to attend. After the dance the festivities continued with the after-prom party, which went from about midnight to 4:30 a.m. The event featured a hypnotist, a game truck with 10 big-screen TVs equipped with gaming consoles, henna tattoos, a photo booth and food. The evening wrapped up with drawings for prizes.
This was senior Taylor Timmerman’s second Triton Prom and first prom at John Marshall in Rochester. She asked her boyfriend, Steve Orlowski, to prom on St. Patrick’s Day with a sign that said, “I’d be berry lucky if you went to prom with me” along with strawberries that looked like tuxedos.
“My favorite part of prom is getting pampered and then dancing all night,” Timmerman said.
This was senior Alyssa Lofthus’ second prom, which she attended with her best friend, Pamala Pater.
“I look forward to getting all dolled up to have a fun night of dancing and hanging out with everyone,” she said.
Lofthus’ favorite part of prom was attending the grand march and seeing all the dresses.
Owatonna
Owatonna High School’s prom is set for Saturday, May 9, with a “Footloose” theme. The grand march will be at 7 p.m. followed by the dance at 9, both at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna.
“It is going to be a ton of fun. It is so beautiful, what they are putting together. It is almost like a barn wedding,” said prom adviser Marilyn Olson. “I’m really surprised how we can take this ugly hockey arena and just turn it into something really beautiful.”
Olson added that organizers are expecting about 400 students to attend. One thing that makes the Owatonna prom different is that the sophomores get to be involved.
“You won’t notice, but they are behind the scenes,” she said. “These kids are part of the prom right up until their senior year. They see what happens and when they are ready to officially be on the committee and plan, then they kind of know what is going on.”
After the dance students will head to Owatonna Junior High School for the Mardi Gras-themed after-prom party from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. During the event students will be able to play casino games, get hypnotized, eat food, win prizes and experience inflatables.
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva
NRHEG High School’s prom is set for Saturday, May 2, with a touch-of-class theme. Barb Hagen, prom committee member, says organizers expect about 120 students to attend.
The grand march will start at 4 p.m. at the New Richland High School gym. After the march, students will load buses and head to Wedgewood Cove Golf Club in Albert Lea, where they will eat dinner with the dance to follow.
At midnight, students will load the buses and head back to the high school for the after-prom party, which will go until 5 a.m. The prom committee wants to keep the after-prom festivities a surprise, but students will have the opportunity to participate in activities, play casino games, win prizes and eat food.