Sometimes I get a bit behind in blogging (really – France and Diakonos spring break blog entries are coming any day!). A couple of weeks ago, CVCA had its annual Junior-Senior Banquet (know as “prom” to all the kids). The students get all spiffed up and have a great meal, followed by the casual “after-party” where there is more food and more fun things to do.
This year, the theme of prom was “Tropical Getaway.” Our friends and colleagues Dubbs and Joy were in charge of the event this year (they are the junior class advisers).They did a nice job. The event was held in downtown Akron in an old Mason hall, in the grand ballroom. The ballroom is elegant in itself, with high ceilings and double-winding staircase, and Dubbs and Joy added many decorations (pineapples on tables, a few fake palm trees, and so on). The pre-dinner entertainment was a steel drum band, which was fantastic. I really enjoy steel drum bands – they put a smile on my face. My biggest gripe of the evening was that my duty as a chaperon had me downstairs directing people where to go, so I did not get to hear as much of the band as I would have liked.
Being on door duty did have its advantages. Mer and I got to see the students coming in, and they were dressed to the nines. The girls had very nice dresses and looked very pretty, and the guys were in tuxes and looked handsome. It was very nice seeing the groups come in.
The food was nice. The adults get a separate room with a buffet, so I cannot speak for what the kids had, but I suspect it was much the same (except as table service). I had to duck out a little early to run the AV equipment (sound system and LCD projector), but Mer took care of me by bringing me desserts.
The entertainment of the evening was mixed, to be honest. It was a man with three monkeys, and I’m not sure the formal event was the best venue for monkeys. That aside, you could not see the monkeys from the back of the ballroom, so probably only about 1/3 of the kids could see. The act went on for about 40 minutes, and I can’t be too upset that the students were getting restless by the end.
The formal event ended with the showing of the senior video, which is put together every year by the head of the Bible department – it takes most of his spring break to make it. It shows pictures of the seniors, formal shots as well as casual shots from around school, and baby shots as well. That is always the highlight of the evening – the videos are well done, and the kids like to see themselves and their friends.
After the evening was over, I changed and spent about 45 minutes tearing down the AV equipment while the other adults helped to clean the ballroom. Once everything was taken care of, Mer and I headed to the Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium for the After Party.
After Party is much more casual. As a bonus, Mer and I walked in to the building and were told we had to register. We said we were staff and were surprised we had to register; it turns out the door folks thought we were students! That is smile-worthy (especially as I’m almost 20 years out of high school).
We ate some more and talked with students. There was some line dancing going on, and there was a wandering card magician who was very good. The racquetball courts were open, as well as basketball and floor hockey. I would have loved to have a hand at racquetball or at hockey, but the students were having good times in those areas and there was not room.
All in all, it was a fun evening, and once again I was grateful that neither Mer nor I was in charge!
Masons? MASONS!?
A FORMER mason building. That means that only half of the hidden microphones work now.
Given that pretty much everything you post about is “nice”, this comes across as some pretty strong words, Mu: “The entertainment of the evening was mixed, to be honest. It was a man with three monkeys, and I’m not sure the formal event was the best venue for monkeys.”
How come you’re so anti-monkey?
You know, according to the urbandictionary.com, “monkey suit” is a slang term for “tuxedo”– has been as long as I can remember– so I’m wondering if you’re objecting to the event-planners’ post-modern critique of the event.
That is giving me WAY too much credit for being clever enough to see the post-modern ironies.
My biggest problem with the monkeys is that they were not big enough to see for the vats majority of people in the room. It is too much to expect a room full of 17-18 year-olds to be interested in something they can not see well or at all.
I know what you mean. I went with a friend to see Eddie Izzard on Friday night and we were so far up that I couldn’t make out his facial expressions. He wasn’t stimulating enough for me to stay awake, but it was too loud to fall asleep.
I’m now of the opinion that it’s better to see a mediocre performance in a small venue rather than excellence in a large one. Stand up comedy, especially, is probably better on DVD. YMMV.
Man, monkeys sound like a lot of fun, though. I’m surprised there wasn’t a rush toward the stage and a catastrophe similar to the Who concert in Cincinnati in 1979. I can see CNN doing a 7-part series on the dangers of Ohio events.
I’m in your camp – small theaters and venues are the way to go. That is one of the huge benefits to liking folk music so much – the venues are always small (except possibly the upcoming Great Big Sea concert, which is outside).
I’m trying to imagine what an Ohio danger would look like…”Man’s nap interrupted by neighbor mowing his lawn! Details at 6:00!”
“m now of the opinion that it’s better to see a mediocre performance in a small venue”
This is why the Rev never misses a FlyButt show…
I confess I did chortle over how often the word “nice” popped up. Nice, btw, comes from the latin meaning “ignorant” and, in Chaucer’s day, meant “wanton”. So you were admiring all the wanton dresses, were you, Mu?
Can I help it if I live a nice life? (More in the ignorant than the wanton sense).
m-monkeys?? Geehh…I saw a picture of the monkey keeper (or in Nicolle’s view, the monkey brainwasher/enslaver) and he looked rather frightening, actually.
Monkeys. (*shakes head*)
On a good note, however, you looked quite the dashing and beautiful duo!
And on a completely unrelated note, THANK YOU SO MUCH. The mystery is finally solved, and I can go to bed at night now…(but seriously) thank you. You went through so much trouble! I owe you cookies or something.
I’ll probably be ordering that book within the week.