Throw sparkles, feathers, music, and unnecessary drama together and what do you get? Prom of course!

Beaver Area’s 2023 Prom, the Golden Gala, was held May 5 at The Fez in Hopewell. Tickets were $75. The theme was somewhat selected by the students with a google form, and the theme was “golden gala” which wasn’t actually on the list of potential themes.

The evening kicked off with the crowning of the 2023 Prom King and Queen. Seniors Ana Avadellas, Kayla Bradford, Bella Jeffers, Elizabeth Logan, Emma Malagise, Zane Atkins, Robert Cestra, Gio Nuzzo, Isaac Pupi, and Omari Smith were the lucky nominees in this year’s Prom Court.

In a tough race, Atkins and Jeffers were victorious and crowned Prom King and Queen.

In honor of his victory, Atkins said, “I didn't really want to be prom king, but I also didn't want to lose.”

So true, king.

In honor of her victory, Jeffers said, “woooo.”

Go off, queen.

As for the dance itself, reviews have come in pretty positive overall. In order for attendees to gain the energy to dance the night away, festivities at The Fez started with a buffet dinner consisting of bread, salad, pasta, potatoes, turkey, chicken, and steak followed by ice cream for dessert.

Food at a function such as prom is always a touchy subject.

Connor Young, junior, said, “the food wasn’t as good as I was expecting, and they didn’t refill it enough.”

With a harsher sentiment, junior Madison Piontek said, “prom food was strange, and my turkey was still gobbling while I was eating it.”

Some don’t always give thanks for their turkey dinners.

The night then continued with entertainment by magician Michael Griffin. With an act coming in about an hour long, Griffin filled his performance with card tricks, needle swallowing, handcuffs, and very entertaining audience participation.

Senior prom attendee Ella Peluso was lucky enough to be chosen as an assistant during one of the tricks.

When asked about her experience, Peluso said, “I felt a little awkward when I was up there for a few minutes in handcuffs while he just kept talking.”

That was all she had to say on the matter.

When the magic on “stage” had come to an end, students took to the dance floor to dance for the rest of the night. Music was provided by Deltondo DJ Service.

Music is alway an important part of the prom experience.

Senior Brad Allison said, “I really really liked the prom music.”

Allison particularly enjoyed the DJ playing a song by recent Beaver Area High School alum Anthony Petralla, aka Tony Rello, though his comments on the matter will be withheld due to them being a bit . . . much.

In addition to dancing and magic, there was also a photo booth and airbrush tattoos to pass the time.

Of course all of this prom fun would not have been possible without the tireless effort of the Junior Class Officers led by President Katie Reap and Vice President Cannon Hoback and their sponsors Miss Battaglini and Ms. Bauer.

Hoback said, “I was so happy with the whole turnout of prom! I thought all of the planning that went into it paid off and we could not have done this without Miss Battaglini and Ms. Bauer! I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!”

As a first-year prom sponsor, Miss Battaglini said, “Planning prom was no small feat. Ms. Bauer and I as well as the junior class officers spent the year preparing by fundraising and planning everything the event encompassed. It was so nerve wracking being in charge of something so big, but we received compliments by students, faculty, and parents and couldn't be happier with how it went. I also want to say ‘thank-you’ to everyone who helped us put together this night for our students, because it is not easy.”

Overall, prom seemed to be a success in attendees’ eyes. Hopefully next year’s prom will live up to or beat the expectations set by this year. Maybe we can go three for three for “gala” themes.