Step Right Up
East High After-Prom Was A Carnival To Remember
Story and photos by Reid Neureiter
For the GPHN
One of the 2020 victims of the COVID-19 pandemic was Denver East’s unique tradition of the after-prom party organized by the parents of the graduating class.
Normally, the East after-prom event has a set theme and is months in the making. An organizing committee of parents sign up dozens of volunteers for fund-raising, food donations and delivery. They build booths and stalls and transform the East High School building for one night into a whimsical playground where graduating seniors can enjoy a safe, substance-free night of celebration. The event was cancelled last year.
But this year, on Saturday, May 15, the parents of the East Class of 2021 were not to be deterred by either the pandemic or the predicted threat of high winds and thunderstorms. They produced an outdoor affair for the ages.
Tents, plastic sheeting and remarkable hand-built decorations transformed the East student parking lot into a combination of Funhouse, Alice’s Wonderland and circus performance space. The East athletic field itself was remade into a “Big Backyard” with inflatable games, a headphone-based silent concert/dance space, karaoke, giant Jumanji sets, spikeball and tether ball courts, plus a “Chapel of Love.”
With an overall theme of “Carnival,” the outdoor extravaganza featured, among other things, fortune tellers, magicians, an elaborately made-up Red Queen and Mad Hatter, fire-jugglers, aerialists, stilt-walkers, plus all the free pizza, popcorn, soft drinks and other treats the graduating seniors could consume.
There were a series of boardwalk-like stalls with carnival games, a giant papier-mache elephant, as well as a mechanical bull — which no student was able to stay on for more than a few seconds. Parents dressed in carnival-themed costumes, some as clowns, others as ringmasters. Perhaps the most popular area with the students was the casino, with blackjack tables and a roulette wheel manned by parent and faculty volunteer dealers and students playing for chips they could cash in for prizes.
Despite the lifting of the mask mandate just days before the event, appropriate infection-safety protocols were respected, with all students and volunteers required to wear masks. Students were allowed into the various entertainment areas in staggered limited-number groups, all moving in the same direction so as to limit overcrowding.
The party started at 10 p.m. and was scheduled to last until 3 a.m. As per tradition, volunteer parents from the junior (rising senior) class of 2022 were responsible for breaking down the sets on Sunday morning.