Update: Teachers recieved an email from After Prom coordinator Melissa Carrell Thursday, April 17 saying that they had recieved enough student sign ups to move foward with After Prom. Students can still sign up until the day of Prom. Scan the QR code on the After Prom posters.
The chaos of Prom is all any senior and junior can think about as the end of the year inches closer. Dresses, suits, tickets, hair and makeup take up a lot of the mind, waiting as the fateful day arrives. However, most students do not think about what happens after the event.
Senior parent Melissa Carrell organized the After Prom party with the help of other senior parents joining, wanted to create a safe space for everyone attending.
“We just wanted a place that kids could go to and have fun, and it was safe for them to be at and really just build that community of being together and just silliness and fun with each other,” Carrell said.
The organizers of this event, being all senior parents, thought about the students and how much they are investing in Prom already.
“We chose Chicken N Pickle partly because of the price. We didn’t want kids to have to pay for After Prom because they’re already paying for so much at prom time,” Carrell said.
Along with the price of Chicken N Pickle, the parents decided that it had a lot to offer apart from food.
“We have the inside and the outside pickleball courts. I believe they will have the fire pits going along with that,” Carrell said. “They have a bocce ball-like area. They have cornhole and washers and battleship and all of the things that they have out there,” Carrell said.
Being in dresses and suits may not be the best for activities offered, which Carrell offered extra time before the bus leaves to allow students time before leaving.
“We wanted people to have time to go home and get changed, and that’s why we gave a gap of 30 minutes before we load the buses, so everybody can go home and take off their dress and come back,” Carrell said.
Transportation in Wichita late at night encouraged the parents to use buses for transportation instead of students driving themselves.
“I would feel terrible if we had a bunch of kids out driving in Wichita at 2:30 in the morning, and there was an accident,” Carrell said.
Due to feedback about the means of transportation, they are taking shuttles back to Augusta at 1:30 a.m. to allow students to leave early. Parents can also pick up students if need be. As of April 3, only eleven students had signed up to attend the event, and the organizers had to tell Chicken N Pickle numbers of attendees April 11.
“Eleven kids have signed up for After Prom, and we have to tell them two weeks in advance how many kids we’re going to have come,” Carrell said. “Then we can’t change our numbers after that, plus we’ve got to get the buses,” Carrell said.
The complications of not having enough students sign up leave the parents worried about the future of the After Prom parties.
“Right now, I really don’t know who’s coming to After Prom, and if it really is just the 11 people, then that’s really not enough for us to have an After Prom. We’ll just need to cancel it,” Carrell said. “I’m just really hoping the word can get out, and if people are seriously going to come, that they will sign up,” Carrell said.
The organizers wanted to let every junior and senior attend After Prom. Carrell expressed the understanding of not wanting to attend the prom.
“It does not matter if you go to prom. Even though this is labeled after Prom, if you are a junior or a senior, you can attend the After Prom party,” Carrell said.
Carrell encourages a positive attitude about the event.
“It’s what you make of it. If you go and have fun, it’s gonna be fun. If you go into it with the mindset of, This is lame and dumb, it’s gonna be lame and dumb,” Carrell said. “We just wanted a place for them to be silly.”
This is the first time in many years that there will be an After Prom party. The parents organizing it have been working hard to create this special event for students. They are looking to pass a new tradition down to junior parents for next year.
