Prom, a fundamental turning point in every teenager’s high school career. The dresses, corsages, and promposals, but why do we love prom so much? What makes prom so amazing? This is what U-32 juniors and seniors want to see at the 2026 prom. Prom will occur on May 16th from 8pm to 11pm, pictures starting at 5pm on the State House lawn.
Though everyone has their ideas on what they want to see at prom, what actually goes into planning for this major school event? Krista Dy, art teacher and adult leader of the prom committee stated, ¨To plan prom we have a prom committee, which traditionally has always been juniors. This is only my second year [leading the prom committee], so there’s things I had to figure out along the way.¨
She shared more about what goes into making prom happen, ¨They [prom committee] come up with a theme, which is the hardest part, a lot of themes are cheesy. Once they get the theme, this year, different to last year, we´ll do a reveal,¨ Krista continued, ¨we go down to the space, which is at the Capitol Plaza, and start figuring out what we want the decorations to be.¨
Though traditionally juniors have led the prom committee, senior Grace Cannella stated, ¨I´m trying to choose my words wisely… It’s cool that they do all the work, but they’ve never been to prom before. I think we should have a say if it´s going to be our last prom, because we want it to be the best it can be.¨
According to a survey sent out by Ashlynn Hayes potential prom themes for this year are firstly, city themes such as; Vegas, with games of poker running around the room as well as other card games. Ancient Greece or Rome and Paris. Other themes include a masquerade ball and ´Captured in Dreams´, which involves decorating the ballroom with clouds, moons, and stars.
Sophia Giammusso, senior stated ¨I feel like no one follows the theme… last year I wasn’t even aware of what the theme was. People choose what they want to wear not based on what the theme is. The theme is really only important for the decorations.¨
Lisa Laplante, school counselor, shared stories from her own high school prom. ¨Where I come from, even back in the late eighties… everybody went in limos and I wanted to be different,¨ she said. ¨So my high school sweetheart and I rented a Rolls Royce.¨ Lisa also shared some differences between her prom and the prom that the seniors and graduated students are used to. ¨It was very formal, there was a seating chart, there was a full sit down meal.¨
Along with having her own prom experience she has been a consistent chaperone throughout her career, ¨I have been a school counselor for 29 years, I have chaperoned 28 proms,¨ she stated. ¨What I love about prom is the different attires, it seems to go through trends,¨ throughout her years of chaperone experience she has noticed that last year some things in particular worked well for our student body ¨The way the restructured the Capitol Plaza, the entrance was much better [than in previous years], they also moved the photo booth machine to a different spot, and I think the kids liked the DJ a lot last year. The hardest part ever is there is never any in between [in regards to the music].¨
Students have shared what their ideal prom would look like. Zack Aldrich, senior stated, ¨A very formal prom would be nice.¨ When asked if he would like snacks available at prom, like Lisa had Zack sarcastically answered, ¨Do I want snacks?¨ He continued, ¨I want little things of poutine, a huge table filled with every kind of cracker, there´s got to be fruits, all the good stuff.¨ Drew Frostick, another senior added, ¨To go out to the dance room and have music that gets you excited, no slow dance or anything like that, no one wants to do that, not even the couples want to do that… [I want] stuff that gets you excited because it´s all about having fun.¨
Though they have not experienced their own prom yet, the juniors have ideas on what they would like to see at prom this spring. McKenzie Tucker said, ¨Not like a middle school dance, something formal.¨ She continued, ¨Something that everyone can vibe to.¨
So, with all these suggestions, what can we expect to see on May 16th? Krista shared the details that are set in stone and good news for those of us who enjoyed the music last year, the DJ is returning, ¨The venue and the music get reserved the day after the last prom and we have the same music from last year¨
