Anticipation was in the air first thing Friday morning at St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care’s Stein Campus.
The adult care program’s Northwest unit kitchen transformed into a boutique, packed with dresses and gowns, suit jackets, dress shirts and ties, plus sparkling accessories to add that special something to every chosen outfit. Elsewhere, makeup was applied just so and hairstyles transformed from Friday casual to special-occasion chic. Just before 10am, corsages and boutonnieres were pinned, clipped and tied to lapels and wrists.
And then it was time.
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The campus’ atrium, decorated in shimmering blues and silver, filled to bursting with music, and people dressed to party and ready to celebrate. St. Ann Center’s first-ever Prom was underway.
Themed “Under the Sea,” the event featured a week’s worth of pre-celebration “prom-posals,” a DJ to keep the dance floor filled, plenty of punch to quench dancers’ thirst, intense campaigning for the title of Prom king and queen, and infectious excitement.
St. Ann Promgoers chase bubbles “under the sea”
Sporting a floor length pink dress, promgoer Deb — who earlier had accepted her friend Blake’s prom-posal — admitted she’d been nervous all week, but was having a great time now. Clients Barry and Francine, who celebrated their engagement at the campus a few months earlier, danced nearly every dance until Barry needed a break from the crowd. “I think that’s why we work so well,” he explained, watching his gold-clad fiancée happily work the room. “She’s a people person and I don’t like crowds. She brings me out of my shell!”
Even the campus’ littlest attendees came out for a bit to gaze wide-eyed at the festivities, sparkly dresses and crowns, and try out some moves on the dancefloor.
Dressed in a sparkly red number, with jewels and lipstick to match, client Reona confessed that her date, Don, didn’t much care to dance, so she found friends who did, showing off her mastery of the Macarena and Cupid Shuffle, reminding folks to vote for the pair for prom royalty, and returning to Don’s side now and then so he didn’t feel forgotten.
Also candidates for prom king and queen, longtime couple Tenesha and Robert preferred the slow dances, Robert dapper in navy with a cream-colored fedora while Tenesha was radiant in vivid orange accessorized with pearls.
Prom dates Robert and Tenesha at the St. Ann Center Prom.
When it was time to crown prom royalty, all promgoers admitted they had a hard time choosing among their friends. But in the end, Jacob and Samiah were named St. Ann Center’s first Prom king and queen in a close contest.
And everyone agreed that, while it may have been St. Ann Center’s first Prom, it sure wouldn’t be the last.
Enjoy more photos from the St. Ann Center Prom.
