LHS 2009 Post Prom Report
After many months of planning, and the generous support of our community partners (pdf), Lincoln High School held its prom and post-prom party on the evening of Saturday, April 18 and early morning hours of Sunday, April 19. Pictures of the event are available HERE (pdf) as well as additional options at the end of this article.
The goal of the post-prom event was to provide a safe, drug- and alcohol-free environment for LHS
students (and their guests), so they could enjoy a few more hours of fun together. We lowered this year’s ticket price to $5.00 and sold over 191 tickets in advance and 25 additional tickets at the door the night of the event. Due to construction at Lincoln High School last year, the post-prom event had to be moved from its traditional location in the gym at LHS to an off-site location, Edgewood Cinema (56th & Highway 2). We surveyed 150 students when we began our planning and there wasn’t a majority preference to return the event to the school building this year, where construction is ongoing. We decided to keep post prom at Edgewood in order to keep down costs, make the best use of volunteer time, provide off-street parking, and make sure there were several entertainment options for the students (to encourage them to stay for the entire event). We used all the theaters and the lobby for LHS Rock the Edge!
The event began at midnight, and students were greeted in the parking lot by The Throwing Picassos, who were juggling fire. Once inside, The Pancake Man was flipping pancakes to students across the lobby, and Kinetic Brew Coffee had their coffee cart. Each student was able to pop a balloon and win a prize from items and gift cards donated by over 100 businesses. Students who bought tickets early were given a memento t-shirts to commemorate the evening. The shirts were designed by LHS promotional marketing students, working with ArtFX Printers and were printed at cost for $4.00 per shirt. Some teachers and parent volunteers bought t-shirts.
The marketing class promoted LHS Rock the Edge with posters, announcements, and through the Lincoln High Post Prom sites on Facebook and MySpace, which were set up last year. The marketing students also provided entertainment ideas for the event, suggesting that a local group, DownSumner, made up largely of LHS alumni, could perform. They had classes vote on the movie choices, and at the end of the night we showed two of their top choices, Marley and Me and August Rush. We purchased two $100 Visa cards, which we gave away after the movies.
One of the biggest reasons kids attend post prom is because of the prizes that are awarded. The entertainment is another component that draws students to the party and keeps them there— and consequently, off the streets. And, the opportunity to socialize after prom was also a draw for our students. We paid attention to what they said in their surveys as we planned LHS Rock the Edge!
Throwing Picassos performed a stage show in one theater and included student participation, then stayed to give away bean bags and teach students to juggle. At the end of their show, we had a drawing for a $50 Visa gift card. In another theater, DownSumner was setting up. Their performance was sponsored by Lincoln Council on Alcoholism and Drugs Community Group, which partially paid for the sound equipment from Midwest Sound. Midwest Sound donated staff and further equipment and the band donated their time to perform. They threw t-shirts to the crowd, and we had another $50 Visa gift card drawing at the end of their performance.
A Rock Band Tournament took place in another theater through the night. Students formed bands of four members to play the electronic game. At the end of the night, the bands with the three highest point values had a play-off. First place band members each won a $25 Visa gift card, and the second and third place band members were awarded prize packages. The last theater was set up with Twister, a bean bag toss, floor checkers, cards, and other games, and provided a social space for the students.
This year, with the bountiful $300 donation from LCAD and a $500 donation from The Sower’s Club, plus additional $1,580 in smaller donations from our community partners, a $1,500 donation from the LHS Boosters, plus start up money left in our account from last year, we were able to provide an great variety of food and entertainment. (We also had over 200 donated prizes or prize packages for the balloon-pop, assuring that everyone would win prizes ranging from $5-$10 values, up to $50.) The cost of the always entertaining Pancake Man was $610, including breakfasts for parent volunteers, school staff, entertainers and security. (Because LHS mandates a security presence, the committee spent $260 to have two police officers on-site throughout the evening.) We paid Kinetic Brew $200, and we got numerous community donations of fruit, snacks, pop, juice and water. Throwing Picassos cost $475, and movie rental was $1,000 plus $300 for the site.
To view pictures or save pictures, access the Post Prom Collection for various options.