Aloha! A Luau themed Prom

 

I feel like this years prom was lots of fun, with a  Beach (specificially Hawain) themed decorations. As soon as the D.J. walked in he vowed to play some Beach Boys and the theme song from Hawaii 5-0.

My goal is to always transform the cafeteria into a place that makes students feel transported to a more special venue then the place they ate tator-tots a few hours earlier. In order to do this, I have to essentially create a wall to hide the lunch line. a beach scene on painted on vinyl and stretched on 4X8 foot boards helps cover most of the heating trays and salad bar area.

The tray drop off window had a screen placed in front of it, and the refreshments were served on a table decorated with pineapple palm trees and more pineapples wearing sunglasses. 

Our surf shop and tiki head area were a great place to have photo shoots. There were 18 palm trees scattered throughout the room. Only once did a tree get knocked over and it was caught before it hit anyone or toppled more. It was a prom-night miracle considering that all of our students are legally blind.

Beachballs and leis hung from the light fixtures above. And more beachballs were scattered on the floor, hiding the uplights. Ferns hid the set stands.

The surfboard out of foam was reversible to match moods and clothing: serious and sporty on one side, playful and floral on the other.

I made a second, reversible surfboard out of cardboard, which we could stand on, without fear of ruining it with our feet & weight.

I taped a cardboard pole between a tree and a set to hold up blue, tinsel streamers. The air vent on the wall behind it was blowing like crazy, so I needed to add hang turquoise fabric from the same pole, behind the tinsel. I taped the stand behind the foam wave to the floor so that it wouldn't be knocked over. I'm always happy when I can figure out last minute installation logistics, whether it be for this surfing photo booth, or how to string the beachballs and hang them from above in a seamless way.

Towards the end of the evening, my paraprofessional and I lit up some foam glow sticks and handed them out to students. Even students with no vision loved waving them around. I love how this picture shows the Cheshire Cat on the back of our tiki head from our Alice in Wonderland Prom two years ago.  I spent almost no money on prom decorations since almost all of it was made from discarded cardboard, hangers, and wall paper. I wish I could share pictures and videos of the students. Everyone had a great time!