Ethan Tawn
On May 3, Aragon held its annual Prom with the theme “Rendezvous at the Reef” from 7-10 p.m. at the InterContinental San Francisco.
While the original plan was to host it at the Design Center Galleria, San Francisco, scheduling conflicts caused the Dance Commission to choose InterContinental as this year’s venue. However, a more expensive venue meant a more constrained budget, leading to tickets being priced at $100 and handmade decorations created by the other commissions in the leadership committee.
“A lot of [the decorations] are [made] out of cardboard so that they’re freestanding,” said senior and Dance Commission Head Ella Taylor. “We couldn’t put anything on the walls of this venue, so we wanted things that could lean up against walls or hang on their own.”
To decide on the theme for Prom, the Senior Class Council held a theme design contest, in which juniors and seniors could submit their ideas, with the promise of a free ticket to Prom should they win. “Rendezvous at the Reef” was chosen as the final theme, with complementing ideas from other themes incorporated too.
“With every venue you have to take it and make [it] your own,” Taylor said. “We’ve done the Design Center for as long as most people can remember, so we had to work around [the InterContinental’s] floor plan since it was a little less familiar to us.”
Despite the unexpected changes, many students expressed their appreciation for the venue.
“I think the venue’s great,” said senior Sofia Laura. “It can fit a lot of us at one time, and it’s not super chaotic and stuffy and gross.”
Aragon hosted its Prom on the third floor of the InterContinental. The registration desk and coat check led to the reception area, where the hotel served an assortment of pasta and dessert.
The menu was customized by the Commission and Leadership advisor Lindsay Bussey to provide portobello mushroom ravioli and rainbow rotini pasta, with sides of chicken, mushrooms, plum tomatoes and more. Dessert included fresh fruit tartlets and petit fours. Drinks were also provided.
The reception room opened to the dance floor, where students danced in an energetic crowd and blue and white lights created an energetic, loud atmosphere. Tables were situated at the corners of the room along with large windows overseeing one side.
Students could also play foosball and Jenga in the game room or take a moment away from the hubbub in the quiet room. In the lounge room, people could also watch “The Little Mermaid” (1989).
Many students loved the venue, and its efforts to seamlessly bring the theme to life.
“The atmosphere is really nice,” said Zihan Yan, a senior at San Mateo High School. “They’re playing The Little Mermaid here. They have curl decorations everywhere. It’s so on theme. It’s great.”
Many seniors reflect on their last high school dance.
“I’m quite sad [that] high school’s coming to an end, but it ended with a really good bang,” said senior Khushi Parikh. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
