By LISA NICELY
nicely@crescent-news.com
It's like Hollywood.
A parade of limousines and fancy vehicles line the street where a crowd gathers to see who's there. A couple steps out of the front car. The man is dressed in a tuxedo, while the woman appears in a dazzling dress. They walk down the sidewalk as cameras flash and the crowd ah's.
Just like in Hollywood, too, there are some surprises. An Amish buggy pulls up with a couple. Is that a golf cart and a tow truck behind that car?
What's going on? It's prom.
This scene was part of pre-prom activities in front of Hicksville High School on May 3.
"This is our normal routine for Hicksville," Cindy Johns, whose daughter was going to prom, said as she watched in the crowd. "It's a town event. It's fun."
Mikayla Flanary of Hicksville has been watching the pre-prom fanfare for the last three years. She said she likes seeing the different dresses and how people react to them.
For some people in the crowd, it's not the gowns or suits they want to see.
"My truck's in it," said Luke Martin of Hicksville. "I'm picking it up."
One thing is for certain, though.
"It's something different," said Chris Cover of Hicksville, whose son was going to prom. "We never did this when I was in school."
Prom has changed over the years.
"We had a banquet and a junior and senior dance afterwards. That was it," said Donna Crowley, a 1960 graduate of Paulding High School and current Payne resident.
"The junior year prom was the best," said Kathy Heffley of Antwerp, a 1970 DeKalb, Ind., graduate. "We had a live band. We went to dinner before at a restaurant. It wasn't provided by the school."
What was once just a dance has become a whole day of activities, ranging from pre-prom traditions to post-prom activities.
Some proms aren't even held at the high school gymnasium anymore.
Napoleon and Tinora students, for example, held their proms at the Nazareth Hall in Grand Rapids. There was a meal there, followed by the prom.
Junior Tony Tijerina said he had a good time at Napoleon's prom.
"It was fun all night," he said. "I didn't do casino, because I was dancing. The food and after-prom was all good. It was just a lot of fun."
Activities for Napoleon's prom, which had the theme "Red Carpet Affair," went from 7 p.m. April 26 until 6 a.m. April 27.
"We have a prom at Nazareth Hall that includes the dance, dinner, photography and casino activities," said junior class adviser J.R. Schroeder. "We try to have different things going on at the same time. The dance went from 7-2 and casino from 10-2. They can switch back and forth. The dinner was from 7-11. It's not a sit-down, real quick meal. They can dance and eat. They go in rotations all over the place."
After dinner and dance, students go to after-prom, which is held at the high school from 1:30-6 a.m. After-prom activities included inflatable games, a magician, breakfast, karaoke, swimming and a movie.
"We saw the movie 'Jaws' in the pool," Schroeder said. "That was fun."
After-prom has become a very big deal for students. Parents of the junior class members at most schools organize games, food and other activities for after-proms, which usually have themes.
In Paulding, parents decorated Paulding Elementary School to resemble a roadway for post-prom activities. The theme for after-prom, which began at midnight May 4, was "Get Your Kicks On Route 66." Decorations depicted the various scenes motorists would encounter on the highway. Students checked in with tickets that were used for prize drawings later. Students had to sign in and sign out as a safety measure.
There was a variety of activities, including a drive-in theater playing a DVD featuring students when they were younger as well as now. The games also were a hit.
"It's fun," Ashley Hahn, a Paulding High School freshman, said after she tried riding the mechanical bull at after-prom. "It's exciting."
Junior Amanda Korney and sophomore Jarrett Carr were also having fun at post-prom. Korney was eyeing the mechanical bull.
"I've never done it before," she said.
Other games were also favorites.
"I really want to try the money machine," said junior Tisha West. The money machine was a glass telephone booth where fake money shoots all over. The person inside has only so much time to grab as much money as they can.
For juniors Zach Dysinger and Aric Mericle, the favorite game was the roadside rest drag strip, aka toilet racing.
"They're pretty fun," said Dysinger. "It's real competitive."
AREA PROMS
Prom season starts in April and runs throughout May in the six-county area.
On Saturday, several high schools will hold their festivities. These include Wayne Trace, Holgate and Pike-Delta-York. Defiance High School will hold its prom on May 17.
Several schools have had their proms already. In April, Napoleon, Ayersville, Bryan, Central Local, Edgerton, Millcreek-West Unity, Gorham-Fayette, Pettisville, Ottawa-Glandorf, Miller-City-New Cleveland held proms.
Tinora held its prom May 2. Schools that held their proms on May 3 included Hicksville, Paulding, Antwerp, Patrick Henry, Liberty Center, Stryker, Wauseon, Continental, Archbold, Edon-Northwest, Montpelier and North Central.