Garden Barn Says no to RHS Senior Prom Photos

The barn door has now closed on the senior prom too.

Like with the last week, the is not opening up its gazebo area for pre-prom pictures tonight, again citing safety concerns.

The area had been a popular spot for prom pictures for about a decade.

Last week, members of the garden center's management team said the Saturday before Mother's Day was just too busy and hinted that a week later might be  OK for the seniors.

The owners were even considering publishing a set of guidelines for pro-goers.

But on Thursday Garden Barn staff member Scott Doughty just said no.

"It's not about rules, it's about safety," he said. "This time of year is just too busy here."

When asked where pro-goers were gathering before heading to the Farmington Club, RHS Principal Eric Baim said, "Presumably the Garden Barn."

When informed of the negative answer, he said, "I guess the kids won't be going …"

Doughty said the business wants assurances that prom-goers and their families would be safe and that any damage to the property be covered. He specifically mentioned the school sanctioning prom pictures as an official event as assurance, including supplying police officers to direct traffic on West Street. The Garden Barn's 80-or-so parking spaces are usually filled and cars are parked along West Street for prom pictures.  

Baim did not address the sanctioning idea but he did say he respects Garden Barn's decision.

"Although it has been a tradition for years that students from RHS go to the Garden Barn for prom photos, we must respect the fact that it is a business and private property," he said. "They have the right to do what they feel is best for their business whether it is for safety concerns or business concerns. I fully support whatever decision they make. If they invite our students to be there, they will be there. If they do not feel comfortable with having our students there, then they just need to find another place for pictures."

RHS Senior Alyssa Holmes, said the students could not seem to get a straight answer on the gazebo area so alternate plans were made.

But they were not happy about it, she said.

"As far as I know, everyone is just going to their friends' houses,"Holmes said. "The whole Garden Barn issue has made everyone mad because everyone is saying different things about it. No one knows for sure if we're allowed to go, so everyone just made plans to go to people's houses."

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.