Dozens of volunteers, local businesses work together to give UHS students a night among the stars
By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com
Hollywood comes to Unionville for one night! The Unionville AfterProm was nothing less than a star-studded event.
EAST MARLBOROUGH — It was, to be sure, a smash hit before it opened.
Hours before prom attendees arrived at this year’s Unionville High School AfterProm event Saturday night, hundreds of local residents came and were flat-out wowed by the “Hollywood” themed event — designed to keep prom attendees both safe and entertained after the prom, traditionally one of the most dangerous highway nights of the year for high school students.
Dozens of parents literally put in thousands of hours planning and prep work to convert parts of Unionville High School into a nice, little slice of Southern California — and managed to do so in just the hours from the close of school Friday to early Saturday evening, just in time for the public walk through.
Unionville High School's gym was converted into Venice Beach and the Hollywood Bowl — a place to relax, kick back and enjoy the scene, as well as live performances.
The transformation was impressive — with a girls’ bathroom converted into a Twilight-themed room and the boys’ bathroom converted to a Star Wars theme. A complete casino — just for fun, mind you — emerged, along with an arcade, a movie theater and even, if you can believe it, Venice Beach and the Hollywood Bowl.
Although dozens of parents stepped up to help out and serve on the board of the event, the steering committee — Cindy Hineman, Sally Jones, Marcy McGovern, Kathy Miller, Jeb Miller and Michelle Montgomery — earned kudos from the critics, namely the steady stream of local residents who streamed through the AfterProm during the special early evening preview.
Scott Honda donated this 2002 Honda Civic to the Unionville High School AfterProm — a lucky attendee will walk away with new wheels. Doug Scott of Scott Honda presents the car to Joanne Bates and Kathy Miller, UHS PTO, Superintendent of Schools Sharon Parker, Cindy Hineman of the AfterProm steering committee and UHS principal Paula Massanari.
In addition to the cool decor, food and fun, attendees stood to win a bevy of cool prizes, topped off as has become tradition: a car from Scott Honda. A few of the other cool prizes included a flat-screen TV, an XBox 360 with Kinect, various iPods, Best Buy gift cards, gift certificates for Salon Moxi, Enzo’s, Bruster’s and Northbrook Canoe Company and more. Local merchants stepped up to donate food, goods and services, too, including Brandywine River Nursery, Lowe’s in Avondale, Landhope Farms, Northbrook Marketplace, Sherwin Williams in Kennett Square, Kennett Florist among dozens of contributing merchants.
