Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 10, 1990 TAG: 9005140174
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: AUDREY OSBORNE SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"We are really happy that the first year we held this we managed to get almost half of the students who went to the prom to come to our party," said Carrie McCoy, one of the chaperones.
She attributed the success to "lots of good, hardworking parents."
Students said they thought the night was a success, too. Senior Sandy Layton and junior Beverly Parker said the party was a good idea because it gave students a place to be with friends and kept young drinking drivers off the streets.
After changing out of formal gowns and tuxedos into jeans and T-shirts, students started piling into the mall at 11 p.m. to party the night away.
More than 300 students filled the mall by the time the doors were locked at 1:30 a.m. They were encouraged to stay until 5 a.m. Those who left after 1:30 were not re-admitted.
When things were starting to wind down at 4 a.m., the chaperones supplied a sausage-biscuit breakfast with orange juice and milk.
As the students left, they received free T-shirts and plastic cups with the prom party logo on them. The logo was designed by coordinator Freda Cole. It displayed a couple dancing under the sky with the title "I survived All Night Long."
The "All Night Long" party was an alternative for students who traditionally drift from party to party, drinking and driving, after the prom. It offered a drug- and alcohol-free evening featuring food, music, games and door prizes.
Once in, the students huddled in the food area of the mall, the focus of the party, but were allowed to mingle down two nearby wings that served as a dance floor, video-game area and mock gambling area.
"The mall was the best place to have the party because we didn't have to decorate that much. Murals on the walls and the shrubbery were already here, all we had to do was set up around it," said chaperone Linda Robinson. About 50 parents and school personnel also were at the party.
The relaxing atmosphere and various events were planned well ahead. In March, parents, the booster club, the PTSA and the student council began notifying local businesses of their plans.
Over the two-month period they received door-prize donations. Most of the food was given by mall restaurants.
Prizes were given away each hour and ranged from coupons for car-washes and video rentals to a camera, sunglasses, fitness center discounts and his-and-her Seiko watches.
Ericka Kirkner, a junior, won the ultimate prize - a gray Buick Skylark donated by Heritage Inc. of Pulaski.
But if students didn't win a prize, they still had a chance to boogie in the lip-sync and dance contests. Blaine Bush, a former Christiansburg student, supplied top 40 and rap music, as well as hard rock and country western. With all his own sound equipment, Bush tried to accommodate everyone's tastes.
A variety of movies was shown, and blackjack and roulette games were set up with the substitution of fake money.
Off to one side of the wings, students eagerly awaited the chance to throw rolls of toilet paper at Assistant Principal Keith Rowland, whose picture was tacked behind a toilet seat in the form of a basketball hoop.
Students Layton and Parker said they hoped the party, the first ever for Christiansburg High, will become a tradition.
\ ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on May 12, 1990 in Current\ Correction / A story in Thursday's New River Current incorrectly identified
to food donors to Chrisitiansburg High School's after-prom party. The food was donated by local churches and other organizations.
\
Memo: correction