Due to inclement weather expected Thursday, June 3, Mainland Regional High School has changed the date of its prom. It now is scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. Monday, June 7, at The Point on Bay Avenue in Somers Point.
Mainland Regional is hosting a prom with a twist
Nontraditional venue could call for some nontraditional prom attire
By ELIZABETH LITTLE/Special to the Sentinel
LINWOOD — Around the country, graduating members of the Class of 2020 missed out on their senior festivities because of the COVID-19 pandemic: barbecues, a normal graduation and prom were all among the traditional milestones many missed.
This year, Mainland Regional High School’s Class of 2021 will gain a sense of normalcy. School administrators have been planning a prom for their seniors, but this time with a twist — both in the venue and attire.
Due to ongoing limits to gathering size at indoor venues, the prom will be held this year at The Point, an outdoor beach bar on Bay Avenue in Somers Point. Students will not be required to wear masks andthere is no dress code.
“Not having a prom last year was certainly a bummer. Junior year is so special because it’s your first prom experience. Not having a prom then was sad because we were all excited to have a prom,” said Ben Harvey, a senior from Linwood. “I’m looking forward to being with everyone and celebrating our senior year and the ability to come back and be together.”
The 2021 prom will divert from Mainland’s usual festivities, which in the past contained a popular after-prom event. There will be no after-prom, but the school’s prom committee plans on providing some of the traditional activities during the prom. According to Junior Class Adviser Victoria Rich, there will be food, games and numerous “big-ticket” prizes that will be raffled off toward the end of the evening, as an incentive for the attendees to stay the full four hours.
“We partnered up with the MRES this year, which helps with prom prizes on normal years. They’re getting 10 big-ticket items and we will raffle them off to Mainland seniors this year,” Rich said.
She explained that staff members from other schools have been reaching out to her asking how Mainland was able to score The Point as a venue.
“They wanted to keep it within the district,” said Rich, who worked at Baia, the restaurant that was demolished to make way for The Point.
One of the reasons Mainland is permitted to have a prom is because The Point is outdoors. Rich said other high schools in the area are having only sit-down dinners for their prom, with no dancing or games.
“I would say the students are excited. Obviously, they didn’t think they would have a prom. We’re lucky to have a place that students can dance outside. We sold more tickets to seniors this year than we ever had in the past,” Rich said.
Mainland’s prom committee decided that there would be no dress code. Students can attend in whatever clothes make them feel comfortable, she said, noting The Point is a beach bar with a lot of sandy areas. Students can wear shorts and T-shirts or dresses and tuxedos.Similar to previous years, Mainland’s senior girls set up an Instagram account to post their prom dresses in an effort to deter others from buying the same dress. All of the prom dresses pictured on the account are long evening gowns, and some are from top designers such as Jovani, Sherri Hill, Faviana and Ellie Wilde.
“I think most girls are showing up with full prom wear because a lot of girls bought dresses last year but couldn’t wear them because of COVID,” Rileigh Booth said.
The senior from Northfield explained that a lot of her friends will be wearing heels, noting that The Point has a deck and boardwalks that are more heel-friendly than the sand.
“I heard most guys are wearing their tuxes for pictures, but because it’s June and it will be hot, some of them might be changing into a button-up, taking off their jacket or changing into a polo or a T-shirt,” Booth said.
Rissy Roo’s, a local favorite formal wear boutique among Mainland girls, has a dress registration program to decrease the chances of girls wearing the same dress.
“If someone comes in asking for the same dress in the same color for the same prom, we will not sell them the dress,” said Marrisa Sharp, the owner of Rissy Roo’s now located inside Papagallo in Ocean City.
Some dress stores such as Karina Boutique inside the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing are making matching masks cut from the hem of the dresses.
“We don’t do alterations here, but I recommend Maria Biamonte in Ocean City who will make masks out of the girls’ dresses,” Sharp said.
In addition to the choice of traditional prom garb, attendees can order dinner from The Point menu, which includes conch fritters, chicken strips, hamburgers, chicken salad and the like. The price of food is included in the prom ticket.
Rich said when they started planning for the prom it seemed unlikely that it actually would happen.
“If you told me we were going to have a prom three months ago, I would be surprised. Now that things are changing so fast, I’m not surprised. We are very excited.”