Sunday, May 8, 2011

Carolina Capital Homeschool Prom 2011 - "Masquerade"

Wow! After an intense week of final preparations and stressing over the weather, Friday night's "Masquerade" was a beautiful and successful event! One hundred seventy-five homeschool students and alumni - ages 14-21 - descended on The Sutherland in all their glorious Prom attire as the sun shone and rain clouds slipped by to the south.

My morning and afternoon had been spent running some last minute errands to get a few more pearl garlands and candles for the centerpieces, then to The Sutherland to help assemble luminarias and table centerpieces, then home to grab a bite to eat and change clothes, then off to where the girls were getting ready to take pictures, then back to The Sutherland for last minute preparations before the guests arrived in full force! All day long I had been checking the DOPPLER radar on WRAL's website, because the forecast was for rain from about 4pm - 8pm,. which was when guests were scheduled to arrive, get pictures taken and eat. Since our Prom is OUTDOORS, rain in the forecast is quite stressful! The dining area is under a reception tent, but the dance floor is open air, and there was not another tent available to rent at the last minute. We placed the assembled luminarias under cover and delayed setting up our check-in table, waiting for one of the chaperones to bring a picnic canopy to go over it. My oldest daughter, who is Prom photographer, planned to set up for portraits inside the house. But God heard our prayers, and miraculously, this little gap in the clouds slid right over our location, leaving us dry and sunny all afternoon!
















A last minute addition to the evening was the hiring of illusionist/ comedian Paul Miller, who mingled with the guests, donning some crazy Russian persona and doing up-close illusions. He was hilarious and very entertaining.

Once everyone was under the tent for dinner -  a delicious  buffet of salad, rolls, chicken dijon, bbq boneless beef short ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots, provided by our caterer 1705 Prime/Rocky Top Hospitality -  a line of showers moved in, and we had to quickly move the photographer and check-in table indoors as well as gather up the luminarias ( paper bags + rain don't mix ) and cover the DJ's lights/equipment! 

The guests didn't seem to mind, and although the music and dancing was delayed by about a half hour, our magician jumped in with a juggling/comedy routine to fill the void!










The rain lasted about 45 minutes or so, and then the skies cleared, so we quickly reset up the DJ's lights and sound system and got the kids out on the dance floor, where they rocked for the rest of the night!  We gave away a bunch of door prizes and paused at about 10pm for dessert and a brief presentation from Joy C. about our benefit, Meet Me at the Bridge.  We also got to sing "Happy Birthday" to Solomon M. ....  IN PERSON.!!!  At last year's Prom, we raised money for the Kolfe Orphanage in Ethiopia, where Solomon lived, and connected with him via Skype to sing "Happy Birthday".  Shortly after that, God performed some serious miracles which brought Solomon to the USA on a student visa to study at the College at Southeastern. So Solomon was our special guest at Prom this year. 












Prom ended too soon for the students, but my feet were killing me and I was ready to pack up and go home.  It was a fantastic night and it is very satisfying to know that 175 homeschool teens had one of those "memorable nights" that they will fondly look back on years and years and years from now - as I do with my one-and-only high school prom, which I attended with a friend who later became my husband. :-)

www.carolinacapitalhomeschoolprom.com


1 comment:

happyhome said...

Found your site through the I'm a HS Group Leader page on FB. Love the prom idea...so beautifully done! There is a large one here in TX that I'm excited for my kids to have the opportunity to attend. Kuddos to you for creating such wonderful memories for the homeschool community!