SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Several high schools have announced they will be having in person proms and senior balls this year, following the state’s COVID-19 guidelines.
- Cicero North Syracuse High School is having its senior ball June 11 at the Marriot Syracuse Downtown. Since so many students are attending, they’ll have to be split into two groups. One will attend from 5-8 p.m. and the second from 9 p.m.-12 a.m.
- Baldwinsville Central School District is having its senior ball June 12 at Sky Armory. The class of nearly 400 students will all be able to attend, wearing masks. They’ll sit social distant at tables, but there will be no dancing. After conducting a survey, the junior class opted to move its prom to fall 2021.
- Jamesville-Dewitt High School is having junior prom and senior ball outside the school in a tent on June 16 and 17. Students will have to show either a negative COVID test or proof of a vaccine.
- Onondaga Central Schools is having senior ball June 19 at Arlington Acres.
Kevin Wood, a junior at Tully High School, said he’ll be attending his prom on June 18 at Arlington Acres. Students will be tested six hours before and will sit in pods of six to eight people during dinner, and wear masks while dancing.
“It’s definitely a relief, because like especially the seniors, like they were telling me how sad they were that they didn’t get to have a junior prom,” Wood said. “It feels good.”
He said the rules also just got updated so that they can bring dates from other schools. Some schools have said that dates from outside schools or even outside grades won’t be able to attend.
The owner of the prom dress store, Boom Babies, said business has been picking up this year, now that schools have made plans. On the weekends, Lorraine Koury said there are around 100-200 customers.
“We’re really happy, we love doing this,” Koury said. “This is the first thing they experience about prom and often it’s more fun than some of the event turns out to be, so we want to make sure it’s a good time. And it has been.”
Koury wasn’t sure what would happen this year and was grateful her store was able to get such a large selection of dresses in beforehand.
“This is a tough year for not just the retailers, but also the manufacturers,” Koury said. “Most of these dresses are made in the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, and they had no idea. We [New York] were closed. The whole country was closed when they needed to project that [proms] would happen.”
Koury still remembers her own prom that she attended in the early 1970s. She wore a halter dress with flowers on it.
“I remember it well,” she said. “That dress would be really popular now.”
Wood said he’s excited for his first prom and to get to experience it with his friends in his pod.
“We’re going to be going out to eat before and all getting ready together and then taking pictures,” he said. “I honestly think that’s going to be like some of the most fun.”
