Prom was this weekend and it is one of the most anticipated events of the year for many seniors and juniors! With the theme being Rolling Stone and the venue being decorated as such, there is a lot to recap for the night.

This prom was at Hard Rock Live on Universal’s CityWalk. Prom officially started at 7 p.m , but doors opened at 6:30 p.m. Though this may seem later into the afternoon, the process for prom is no easy one. Students started getting ready early in the morning in order to make time for everything. Putting on your dress or suit, doing makeup, and doing hair may seem like not much but is actually quite time consuming when under a time limit. Many like to meet up and take pictures before actually heading to the venue and some popular places pictures were taken at innclue Cranes Roost Park, Ligonier Ministries, and, of course, Universal itself. Another thing that many students did was go out to eat before prompt, whether that included a fancy sit down restaurant or maybe just fast food on the way. 

Now with the whole process of getting ready out of the way, students began to head to the venue. In order to get to the venue, students had to go through the normal CityWalk entrance at Universal, which proved to be a bit of a walk. With tourists and regular dressed people, prom dresses and suits definitely stood out in the crowds. 

Finally after arriving at Hard Rock, it wasn’t hard to miss with the line of dresses and suits standing outside. Before entering the venue, you had to find an administrator and scan in with your minga badge and ID in order to get a wristband for entering. As you entered the venue, you were greeted by guys on tall stilts with face paint painted with a makeup look inspired by the band Kiss. A coat and bag check in was by the entrance along with a bar serving sodas and water. 

As you venture further into the venue, you’ll see a dance floor in the middle and along the sides offered photo opportunities with green screens and backdrops available to students. Going up the stairs leads to theater seats and balconies overlooking the dance floor. Going outside on the second floor greets you with another balcony overlooking CityWalk. On the outdoors balcony was karaoke, tables, 360-camera, and another door leading to couches upstairs. Junior class council member, Fatema Hossain, explains how the set up on prom day went for her: “We all had different stuff to do for setting up the venue, like how the adults did a lot of the heavy lifting. We did pretty minor stuff like blowing balloons and setting up ring lights, but it was still a lot of fun seeing everything be made.”

Prom was a magical night for many filled with dancing and socializing, the DJ offered a range of music from pop, rap, techno, and more! Slow dance songs played too for couples giving the full experience. Junior, Prisni Nawala, shares her prom experience and what she learned for the next one: “It was an amazing night, I got to dance with my friends, sing karaoke, and the venue was lively. My favorite part was when I first got there and got to see everyones dresses and how decorative it was. For next year, I want to take better pictures, have a bouquet, and take part in the photo booths there since I ended up on the dance floor most of the night.

Prom is now over, and for seniors it’s a bittersweet moment as it was their last prom. Graduation is fast approaching and now it’s time to enjoy the last moments before the year is over.