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We want to bring pre-prom back to Cranbrook
Letter to the Editor
We felt we needed to respond to the two letters written last week regarding new plans for the pre-prom March on June 25.
There seems to be some misinformation in the community and around the parent volunteer driven activities for Mount Baker Secondary School (MBSS). The new plan is for pre-prom to be held at Rotary Park in downtown Cranbrook. This is a 1.5 hour event that students can get together with their family, friends and community to show off their finery before heading to the prom. Many of these students have spent many hours and money to look their best for one of the most exciting times of their young lives. This is the time everyone gets to see the graduates on their way to prom.
In November 2015, although there were many volunteer names under the various committees, there were only two volunteers who came forward to donate their precious time as committee chairs. The prom requires at least one over-all chair, nine separate committee chairs and many others on each committee to help things run smoothly. The committee donates hundreds of hours each year organizing this event.
In February during our very first chair meeting we discussed pre-prom and some of the challenges we face at St. Eugene; parking in the field (which can be difficult for some), photography (not all grads can fit onto the staircase), no seating, crowded courtyard and general chaos. We wanted to find a way to organize the venue for this event to make it a better experience for all involved. Pre-prom is about the grads and in so is about family, community and all involved in this journey. We also discussed moving to another venue.
Later in February, our pre-prom chair came to us with an amazing plan and she put countless hours into a vision for pre-prom at Rotary Park. The pavilion in the center of Rotary Park will set the stage with a red carpet and curtains for the grand entrance of every grad captured by the professional photographers. There will be bleachers for seating as well as a space large enough to hold all the graduates and their dates for a class photo.
As Rotary Park is close to COTR, it is possible to use decorations from the prom to set up four photo stations where family and friends can pose with their favourite grad. There will be special parking for grads, elderly and handicapped close to the park. This gave us an opportunity to bring pre-prom back into the community similar to many other communities around Canada. In consideration of the construction with the bathroom facilities there has been several discussions with the city. If this construction is still happening during the pre-prom there is a plan in place to minimize the impact and most viewing is directed away from this part of the park.
We have also investigated the problem of caterpillars and have learned that nature has its way of not bending to the will of humans. They may come out before prom, after prom, during prom or not at all. Every year is different. The city uses sprays against these creatures and they have recently removed 15 trees that will also minimize the problem.
We have communicated to students the plans and why we felt it was a good idea through an assembly at school, meetings held with the student grad committee and even a private one-on-one meeting with an unhappy student who did not even show up. As co-chairs we have had our email address under the grad tab on the school website to ensure open communication.
Our personal experience with students, parents and community members has been very positive and we feel we have many supporters. One student told us the story of how her grandfather (with a walker) could not attend the pre-prom of her older brother due to the bumpy field that has to be walked across to get to the location. She is very happy that this year her grandfather will be able to attend.
Unfortunately, we will not make everyone happy. There are pros and cons to every venue. St. Eugene is a beautiful setting and a special place to many people but we would like to try something new. The argument has also been made that St. Eugene is a tradition. We believe the tradition is to have it in the City of Cranbrook where most of the grads have grown up. St. Eugene has been the venue for seven years and MBSS has been having proms/grads for over 60 years.
We want to bring pre-prom back to Cranbrook and make it an event that the community can also enjoy. As volunteers and parents we have only the best intentions to make Prom 2016 the best possible event that it can be.
Michelle Fetzko (Prom 2016 Chair) and Anita Savage (Prom 2016 Co-Chair),
Cranbrook
