Fairy lights and wisteria were strung across the top of the dance floor. Purple uplighting and ficus trees added a splash of color to the elegant white drapes. If you stepped into the Levine Museum of the New South on May 6, you might have even expected an escort of fairies to pop out of nowhere, as if you were truly walking through an enchanted forest.  

“It’s really nice because everyone on board got to contribute to the decorations,” Junior Board secretary Jenny Nguyen said. “We tried to really enhance the whole experience. It’s like you walk in and you’re in a different world.”

Going along with the enchanted forest theme, the whole venue was decorated like a scene out of a storybook. The night was a magical one, as many students had a great time dancing away the night to a variety of music, ranging from Michael Jackson to Migos. In addition to this being the first time prom was held at the Levine Museum of the New South, it was also the first time online forms were used to collect song recommendations and vote for prom king and queen.

This year’s nominees for prom queen were Emely Barahona, Nyat Fessehaye, Nia Goodman, Paige Henderson, Bridget Mclendon and Hanna Wondmagegn.The prom king nominees were Tyler McCall, Mario McGee, Matthias Poku-Kankam, Chad Brown and Derrick Rabb. It was around 11 p.m when Principal Rick Parker announced Wondmagegn and Rabb as the winners.

“I was thrilled to win,” Rabb said. “I didn’t expect it at all. It was a good experience. I mean, overall the night was fun and winning prom king made it even better.”

Junior Board planned the whole event, while next year’s Junior Board members greeted and checked students in. Board members were pleased with the way prom turned out.

“It was fun seeing it all out, that was really nice,” Eva Kinney said. “We had a photo booth upstairs that was really fun, because it was a green screen and you could change the background.”

Students enjoyed having their pictures taken at the photo booth that included different backgrounds such as a lantern-filled sky, a galaxy and the Hollywood red carpet.

“I did the photo booth with one of my friends, his name is Chad, and me and Chad took our little picture,” senior Nia Goodman said. “It gave us different themes of pictures we wanted to keep and I thought that was cute ‘cause it had different backgrounds and you could choose your own. It made it more personal.”

While prom is mainly for juniors and seniors, underclassmen are allowed to attend if a junior or senior invites them. This was the case for freshman Kate McCanna.

“My favorite part was probably all the effort put into it, because I know they really tried hard to get it to where it was,” McCanna said. “It was nice to see everybody in fancy dresses and all decked out.”

In the end, prom was an enchanting night for those who attended. For the seniors who were there, it was a bittersweet moment for them knowing that soon they would graduate.

“I think the part that I’ll treasure the most is the fact that everybody there was so sweet to each other,” Goodman said. “I just enjoyed dancing and taking lots of pictures with all of my senior friends.”