Upper Moreland High School getting ready for 51st post prom party

Prom.

Four years of anticipation leading up to one night. 

For parents this night can bring a lot of anxiety, especially over the post-prom activities. With the increase of teen drinking and driving the Upper Moreland community wants to offer a safe place for students to go after prom.

Thus the post prom party.

“A lot of kids think they will drive to the mountains or the shore and we want them to have another option,”  Lisa Driscoll, event coordinator, said. “We don’t allow them to drink and they will be checked before entering the post prom, but we try to come up with a lot of activities and ideas to keep them interested.”

This will be the 51st year of the post prom party.

The event is scheduled for June 3 from midnight - 4 a.m. in the Upper Moreland High School gymnasium.

 "It’s kind of a big party,” Glenn Brown, a past coordinator of the event, said.

According to Brown, there is a large theme established. Then the gym is broken into nine sections each decorated in a way that ties into the larger theme. In the past they have done a movies theme and each section is decorated like a different movie.

Past themes have included "Disney," "under the sea," and "space odyssey."

“We do try to come up with a theme and keep it a secret from the kids until the actual night,” Driscoll said.

The middle of the gym is transformed into a dance floor with a DJ.  Tables are set up around the dance floor for students to eat and drink non-alcoholic drinks.

“It just began as a party, and as time went on, it became more of a lock-in,” Brown said.

Students agree that once they enter the party, they will not leave until the end. 

"The real purpose of the post prom is to have somewhere for our kids to go after the actual prom and hang out and be together with their friends and for them not to make a bad decision and go drinking and driving,” Driscoll said.

The post prom party is a community effort, according to Brown.

“We try to get the whole community involved, with asking for donations from businesses, so that we can give out door prizes to the kids, and feed them. We don’t have a big budget.  A lot of the decorations are donated by parents and organizations,” Driscoll said.

Last year about 40 to 50 different door prizes were given out throughout the course of the night. 

"In the past the post prom has been fantastic.  You cannot believe the creativity that is brought out in the parents," Driscoll said.

If you are interested in volunteering, the first post prom meeting will be held Wednesday Jan. 26. 

For more information, contact Lisa Driscoll at driscollsfour@verizon.net.