High school students will celebrate “A Night on the Bayou” for this year’s prom at the DeBruce Center on KU’s campus.
Prom organizer Katy Hayden said the students were using greenery, flowers and lanterns to create the decor for the night. Prom will run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.
Before students head to Lawrence for the dance, a red carpet near CPA Park will be available from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. allowing students to show off their fashion.
After the dance, All-Night Prom will begin at Eudora Middle School and feature food, games and prizes.
The winners of prom king and queen will be announced at the dance. The candidates are:
Queen candidates: Arianna Etter, Dacia Grant, Hallie Woods, Abby Fager, Kynlee Dressler
King candidates Brody Wenger, George Hagan, Porter Bruce, Jason Ditty, Bryce Mulvihill
Before the weekend’s prom activities, RISE Prom will be hosted as a private event Wednesday afternoon, offering a Hawaiian-themed dance for students from special education programs in Eudora, Baldwin and Wellsville.
RISE (Reaching Independence through Special Education) Prom is also known as Harper’s prom, a reference to graduate Harper Schreiner who first organized the dance in 2022 for her capstone project.
This year, senior prom candidate Bryce Mulvihill is bringing the event back, and working to set it up for success in the future.
“Our big goal with it is to get some of the kids who might have anxiety or second guesses about going to prom, to go to prom, so that we all can be together,” Mulvihill said.
Dan Hoschouer is helping organize logistics for the event. He said the goal is to provide an alternative setting for special education students who might not feel comfortable at a traditional prom.
Mulvihill secured sponsorships from the Eudora Schools Foundation, which is funding the event, and hopes to sustain the event for future years. He also assembled a team of volunteers and encouraged community members to get involved in future years to help the event grow.
“He wants to see it continue on and have this thing get, you know, grow bigger and bigger as the years go by,” Hoschouer said.
More than 60 people are planning to attend from Eudora, Baldwin and Wellsville, Mulvihill said.
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
