The most awaited dance of the year is right around the corner. Hair appointments, spa days, and dresses galore, prom is an old tradition dating back to the 19th century, but has severely grown in popularity since. The Gallatin High School Prom is on May 4th this year, themed as Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. AfterProm really seized the opportunity to theme it as Star Wars after the popular saying, “May the force be with you,” as in the date May the 4th.

With so much anticipation for the event, there are questions, of course, that need to be answered. What to expect and how the behind-the-scenes of the dance will work are all in need of answers.. Katie Greiner, a math teacher at GHS and also the Prom Advisor, as well as Sophia Cowell, a junior at GHS and a member of the Prom Committee, were interviewed about these very questions.

For GHS’s third annual prom, the event will be held at The Elm. Greiner is expecting a big turnout, she said, “A lot of fun and excitement [is to be had] with it being at a new venue.” The Elm is located on the corner of 7th Avenue and Peach Street, a venue built in 2021, and has hosted many concerts since then. However, parking may pose a difficult task for students. Some tips from the prom advisor herself is, “There are a lot of spaces [at] the Woodier Elementary school,” as well as “Sixth Street behind the Elm.” Students are advised not to cross busy streets to get to the venue.

At the dance, the venue is set up to have an entrance where students hand in their tickets, a lobby with a photo booth and restrooms, and the dance floor with three levels of flooring and a stage. “If students haven’t done so, they should have an email in their inbox to request songs.” says Greiner, so make sure to check your student emails for a chance to hear your songs on the dance floor. Cowell also gave us a sneak peek at the decor by telling us to expect “Amazing lighting and a fog machine.”

There is a lot that goes into prom, from the decor to what food to serve. Every little detail needs to be planned out meticulously in advance. Prom is known to be student-led at GHS and the Prom Committee has put in a lot of work to pull this together. Greiner tells us what a typical meeting is about by mentioning, “Students are volunteers that meet at lunch on Fridays. We talk about the theme and order decorations together.” With Cowell being one of the members, she mentions they “create a prom wishlist of all the decorations,” funded by the ticket sales, as well as plan out and manage scheduling, advertisement, social media, and many other factors.

With only a few junior volunteers actually committed to this committee, many choices are left up to them. But they had some help with some of the posters you see around school. Mr. Curry’s graphic design class has produced two posters for prom as well as designed the tickets that will be sold.

 The fun doesn’t stop when prom ends however; AfterProm is an amazing way to spend the rest of your night. Held at GHS, AfterProm starts at 10:30pm and goes until 2:00am and is filled with lots of entertaining activities for participants. run, laser tag, movies, ax throwing, and more. Additionally, over 90 prizes can be won at AfterProm with raffle tickets handed out as you leave the prom venue. Students were asked what prizes they wanted to see at this event to make sure it was worth it, and from the turnout last year, AfterProm is very much worth it.

Altogether, the prom committee is determined to make prom a blast. Lots of time and hard work is going into the event to ensure maximum enjoyment, so book those hair appointments, plan the spa days, and order those dresses. Prom is on its way and we anticipate a long night of dancing, laughing, and memories. Cowell leaves us with a piece of advice, “Stay safe and just have fun—you only live once.”