Its Prom Season

 Its that time of year again, when high school students rent limousines, buy dresses or rent suits, get flowers, boutonnieres, get hair fixed, polish shoes, and panic as the night for one of the biggest events in high school approaches.

Many high school have their proms at hotels, with people arriving by limo so no one has to drive.  To afford it, several couples pool resources and afford the fancy wheels.

Out in the bush of Alaska, it is so different.  Usually the prom takes place in the school gym or cafeteria.  In my village, they decorate the entrance to the school building by the office, to the double doors going into the main part of the school.  They also decorate the gym which is opposite the office.

Entrance

Kids, hang up everything from that fancy stuff you buy from the Prom people to black garbage bags hung over windows to keep light out.  The sun is not setting until close to midnight now and if they want the room to be dark, they have to effectively cover the windows.  They will hire someone locally to be the DJ because the person has a great selection of music and a set of speakers.

Dancing and food

The music is set up in the little area leading to the gym from the cafeteria because it is out of the way.  They bring tables in from the library and spread them around the foyer and a few in the cafeteria with chairs here and there so people can sit and eat.  They only have the music, the food, and lots of open space in the cafeteria.



The doors open about 6:30 for a 7:00 start so the girls can get here early enough to change.  You do not want to get ready at home, hop on the back of a snow machine, or ATV to drive to school.  I think there are like 3 maybe 4 cars in the whole village so its better to get ready at school.  During the day, the girls get their mothers, sister, or aunts to help fix their hair so its picture perfect to go with their fantastic gowns.

The boys dress in their suits at home before coming to school where they have either myself or one of the men help them tie their ties.  The guys only wear ties at graduation or the prom so people do not get much experience in this so one of the teachers has to do it.

photo op.

At 7 P.M, the dance begins where for no more than $30 for the pair, they get four hours of music, dance, and food. Through out the evening they snap photos at the photo place and have a great time.

This year, they had a space type theme but the back is covered by hand painted garbage bags.  Since prom ended up on a Sunday night, school is starting late. 

I hope you enjoyed a quick look at a prom in bush Alaska where things are very different than in most other places in the world.

Have a great day and let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.

The pinacle of a year in the life of a high school student.

In many places in the United States, the end of the school year brings the biggest social event of the

year.  An event that turns the high school gym, cafeteria or multipurpose room into dream land, a place where girls and boys  show themselves to be sharp dressers of the movies for the night.

Its almost a rite of spring and of being a teenager since so many youngsters I know, love the prom.

In larger places students might have the prom at a hotel,  or in the mezzanine of the school auditorium or perhaps even at a fancy place in town.  In small places, there are not that many choices.

I had the pleasure of attending the prom at a small school in Alaska this year.   They converted the

cafeteria into a beautiful dream for those who came.  The boys borrowed suits from their dads, uncles, older brothers or cousins and often paired them with their basketball shoes.

  I ended up doing 5 or 6 ties for the young men who had not learned to tie their own ties.  Most people out there never wear ties except to the prom or graduation.

The girls ordered in their gowns from Amazon, E-bay, or had family members from Anchorage send them something.  A few girls borrowed gowns from others.  I grinned a lot watching the girls in their too large high heels, clumping around the room scared to venture out by themselves and yet proud of how they looked.

For a town of about 1000 people, the girls all managed to find someone to do their hair, help them dress and let them live their dreams of being sexy and the boys, some of whom never wear anything other than hoodies and jeans, turned out in their best.

This was the night when the boys looked like they stepped off the cover of GQ, while the girls could have strutted their stuff in Seventeen magazine.  All in all, they lived their dreams this one night of the year and came away with memories to last them a life time.