Prom is an annual event that many Mounds View students look forward to all throughout their high school years. While prom was unfortunately lost last year due to COVID, Mounds View juniors and seniors were able to experience prom this year.

Mounds View’s student council rose to the challenge of making prom a memorable experience for students while still enforcing safety precautions. This year, the council chose the theme “Up, Up, and Away”, and organized a detailed plan for COVID safety. This plan entailed creating student pods of 30, and rotating stations to minimize the amount of students at one place at a time. After their time at Mounds View, students were also able to end their night at Nickelodeon Universe. Establishing these small groups of 30 allowed students to spend more time with their friends and made the night more special for other attendees. “It was cool how we did the rotations at Mounds View for the dance! I actually really enjoyed it,” said Brita Hagfors, 12.

Students were also given time between their stations at prom and Nickelodeon Universe to have dinner and take pictures. “Dinner was my favorite part! We went to Osaka and did the hibachi, it was so good,” Hagfors said. The break allowed students time to recharge for a fun night at Nickelodeon Universe.

A major part of prom is dress selection and matching accessories. Due to COVID-19, masks became an essential accessory to students’ prom attire. One trend particularly unique to this year was that students matched their face masks to their prom outfit. As a result of this, some tailoring companies started making masks out of the extra material after altering prom dresses. “I think that matching my mask to my prom dress was a really special touch to prom this year,” said Eva Anderson, 12.

This year, many prom attendees chose long dresses that featured sparkles and sequins. The dresses this year also resembled a more mermaid style. This choice is different from previous years, where the majority of dresses were jewel tones, satin and styled a princess cut.  While many students choose to wear long dresses, which is similar to previous years, students also chose to wear sharp suits. These suits were accompanied with bright bow ties, patterned ties and even turtlenecks. Colorful shoes were also added to the outfits to create a bolder look. 

One major aspect to prom remained the same as it had in previous years: Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. During this final part of prom, students had the amusement park to themselves and were welcome to go on any ride they desired. 

While prom this year may have been a little different than usual, it was still a fun-filled night. With all the activities planned by student council, more time in small groups with friends, and the rides at Mall of America all to themselves, prom this year was certainly a night to remember.