Great Gatsby grand march

Couples walked a long winding runway in silence for Washington High School’s grand march.

The lack of noise in the large gym was certainly felt, however, there were a few couples that took it upon themselves to break the ice and illicit laughter from the audience.

Macy Williams and Ethan Crawford skillfully enacted a fake slap moment that caught the quiet audience off guard, but they were not the only ones.

Gracey Simmering and Angel Mata decided to make their mark on the first turn of the catwalk with a couple of dance moves.

Washington students were not deterred by the formality of the event. In fact, two sets of friends took time to plan comedic attire for the evening.

Travis Leyden and Lucas Kroll brought their monthlong planning to life as they struck an iconic pose from the 2008 movie Step Brothers.

“We love the movie,” Kroll said when asked why the decided on such a unique take on prom outfits.

Seniors Lincoln Hanson and Zeke Slagel decided to represent Dumb and Dumber for their moment in the spot light.

Kroll and Leyden did concede that Hanson and Slagel had been planning their debut as the popular movie duo significantly longer.

One of the boys’ mom standing close by commented that they had been planning this over the last two years.

“Just cuz it’s fun,” Hanson said of their reasoning for the fun moment.

“We’ve been looking forward to it,” Slagel said.

There was not a lack of more traditional beautiful dresses and tuxedos either with students like Rylee Fishback in yellow.

“It’s been nothing but awesome,” Greta Roth said of prom early in the evening, “I’ve decided that everything today is awesome.”

Roth and her date lived out this philosophy as they headed out singing Everything Is Awesome by Tegan and Sara featuring The Lonely Island in The LEGO Movie.

Washington students left the school behind so the transformation of the commons into a dance floor could take place.

To keep the fun going, however, many students could be found at the Korner Kremery getting sweet treats.

The Great Gatsby themed prom took place in the high school commons with the after prom to follow in the gym of the same building.

Students wrapped their night at after prom with inflatables, a hypnotist, and even a cash grab booth filled with 1,000 one dollar bills.

“A really good group of parents did a ton of work to make this possible,” said Janet Conrad who headed up the after prom planning.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com