Purple Haze
Forever for tonight
By Lauren Bagian

May 7, 2009

The Northern High School Junior/Senior Prom featured a night full of pictures, food and dancing that stood as the climax of the school year at the Harrisburg East Holiday Inn on Saturday, May 2.

Each glamorously clad girl received a red rose as they walked through the threshold into the dimly lit space suggestive of candlelight. Large round tables surrounded the dance floor, themselves enclosed by an open trellis covered with purple and green streamers. This décor followed the theme “Forever for Tonight,” which mirrored the prom scene of the movie Twilight.

Chicken cordon bleu, vegetarian lasagna and steamed spring vegetables accompanied by green salads and fresh rolls composed the meal. “Dinner was delicious!” said junior Jared Hunt. “My favorite dish was definitely the chicken cordon bleu.” The classy menu made it seem as if the dance had taken a joint residence with a fancy French-Italian fusion restaurant.

Once dinner ended, the main part of the evening, the dancing, began. Junior Steve McCown commented that “the DJ was very good. He played a wide range of music.” Junior Chelsea Musser agreed and enjoyed how he played the Grease medley including the classic “Grease Lightning.” Junior Jessica McAleer’s favorite song was “The Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The varied playlist kept the dance interesting and pleased most attendees.

As the night’s festivities came to a close, the senior class experienced the last moments of their final high school dance. Seniors Nicole Mizrahi and Luke Barricklow were crowned Prom King and Queen. They danced to Iron and Wine’s “Flightless Bird,” which kept pace with the Twilight movie theme.

After the quiet ballad ended, everyone else once again flooded the dance floor. Senior Brittani Shearer thought that “the conga line that was formed during the final song was a great way to end [her] senior year.” Senior Courtney Peters remarked that her favorite part of the night was the senior dance to the song “Friends Forever” because “there was a group of about 18 seniors who had been friends for a very long time that all danced together in a big circle.”