The dance floor had a lot more room and tables filled with individually wrapped snacks and bottled water took place of the catered dinner before the COVID-19 pandemic.
None of that mattered to the 50 or so adults who took to the Hildrebrandt Hall floor at St. Mary’s Church in their Roaring ’20s finery at an Adult Prom recently. For them, it was just good to have the old gang back together to party wholesomely after a year of shutdown kept them relatively isolated.
Prom host Jamee Harkins-Queen, who said her not-for-profit, Meaningful Memories, has been involved with hosting the prom for the last six years. The event started when a few of the promgoers’ families approached her about hosting a dance for them at the Griffith YMCA when she worked there.
Within two years, the event became so popular, it outgrew the Franklin Center gym and got moved to the much bigger Hildrebrandt Hall, she said. There, promgoers could have a full sit-down meal and much more room to dance.
The Roaring ’20s theme dovetailed perfectly with the advent of the new decade, but COVID-19 threw a wrench into the plans and, like everyone else, they canceled the 2020 event. Looser restrictions and better precautions, however, saved the date for this year, she said.
“We decided to go with only bagged snacks and require masks to make it all COVID-friendly,” Harkins-Queen said. “We also limited ticket sales to about half; normally, with the promgoers and their caretakers, there would be around 200 people.”
A smaller crowd didn’t translate into a tamer crowd, as the attendees kept the dance floor hot. Nick Redman, of Munster, practically had to be dragged off the dance floor, his date and friend, Melissa Diekelmann, said.
“Any time there’s a dance floor, he never sits down,” she said as she stood off to the side to cool off.
Redman, 24, said he loves to attend this prom, as well as others, because he loves music and getting dressed to the nines. Saturday night, jazzed up his tux with a shiny vest and tie in a vibrant, Caribbean blue.
“I decided on the blue because I thought about what color I haven’t worn yet, and I came up with this,” he said. “I understood there was a crisis (last year), so I’m having a good time watching everyone else enjoy themselves.”
Donning a T-shirt with a tuxedo on front but taking it to the next level with a top hat, Jake Kelley, of Schererville, got express approval for his attire from his girlfriend of 10 years, Kristina Plucinski, of Griffith, a vision herself in black sequins and black feather boa.
“I got it from the store,” Kelley said of his snazzy shirt. “We like to have fun and dance — hula hula!”
Judy Evans, of Highland, whose son, Alex, got a group dance going early in the evening, was happy for the night out.
“We like to socialize with everyone in our group, and it’s just nice to see people out,” Evans said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
