Seniors prepare for Saturday?s big event: prom

The senior class wasted no time Friday as it scrambled to prepare the gymnasium for Saturday?s prom. The prom committee covered the gym floor and the walls with thin, sleek tarps of blue, purple and black colors. While some taped the tarp to the floor, others were busy building artificial shrubberies, which look nice but aren?t too expensive.

The theme of the prom is a mixture of ?Alice in Wonderland? and an enchanted forest. One of the senior organizers of the prom is Marissa Gaal, daughter of Bob and Krista Gaal. She said the Alice in Wonderland theme was chosen because it would appeal to the senses.

?We wanted something that was fun, colorful and easy to decorate,? she said. ?There is so much you do can with this theme.?

The student council has met to discuss prom since January. The council went through books that showed various themes it could use.

?We narrowed it down to eight themes, then six, and then three or four,? said Gaal.

At that point, the council put the theme up to a vote of the entire senior class. Since that time, the council and the various prom committees have met regularly, often twice a week. All told, Gaal estimated that the organizers have spent about 30 hours each preparing for prom.

The publicity committee is responsible for the brochures, the lineup of the grand march, and for putting ?Thank You? notes in The Journal for people who donated to prom. Gaal said 103 couples have signed up to be in the grand march, which begins at 5 p.m. in the gymnasium and will last about an hour.

To get into the grand march, one member of the couple must be either a junior or senior at the high school. This means that underclassmen may attend, and even people from other schools, provided their date is an upperclassman at Washington High School.

Last year?s prom had a Hollywood theme. All of the bleachers were pushed in, and the parents weren?t allowed on the floor. This year, they?ll be allowed on the floor. Gaal said there will also be a row of bleachers for the girls to sit on so they won?t get their dresses dirty.

The music committee selects the music for the grand march. Oftentimes, a theme will come with a set of songs to play. Gaal said that is not the case this year. She said some of the songs will be from the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack, but others will be modern pop songs.

Washington High School is unusual in that its seniors plan the prom, whereas in most schools the juniors plan it. However, the juniors are certainly not left out of Saturday?s activities. The juniors (and their parents) organize the after-prom party.

?Our theme incorporates everyone?s opinion,? said Gaal. ?It?s everyone?s imagination coming together.?

A number of the decorations call up images from the Alice in Wonderland book and recent film. There will be giant, 5-foot-tall playing cards. There will also be a giant metal-framed hat where the couples will enter during the grand march.

?Jason Mellinger welded it, and my mother and I came in and covered it,? said Gaal. ?The girls will walk out on one side of the hat, and the boys will walk on the other side of the brim of the hat.?

The prom committee will spend much of today making artificial trees, hedges and rose bushes.

Who pays for the prom? The students do. The seniors have a class fund, and raise money by selling things such as concessions and powder-puff T-shirts. Last year, the class raised $1,000 at the after-prom party, which contributed to its $3,000 budget this year.

The prom itself begins at 9 p.m. The school is using the same DJ it did last year.

?He plays the modern songs that we all know,? said Gaal. ?I?m sure we?ll hear the electric slide, Cotton-Eye Joe and those kinds of songs. We also get some slow songs, but not as many as the upbeat songs.?

The dance lasts until midnight, and there is still plenty of fun left to be had after that. That?s when the after-prom party begins. In the past, the after-prom party has featured inflatable sumo-suits that the students wear to wrestle each other. A hypnotist is another fixture of after-prom parties. There will also be door prizes such as televisions and refrigerators. The final event of the after-prom party is, strangely enough, breakfast.