Come April 17, as scores of Iola High School students are sleeping off a night of revelry from their annual junior-senior prom, classmates Brittany Gapa and Cheyenne Leigh still will be hard at work.
The IHS leadership students are the primary planners of “Rio Carnivale,” a prom for area senior citizens to attend the Sunday after the prom ends.
The senior prom, in the high school gymnasium, will have the same decorations from the junior-senior prom the night before.
The idea for the senior citizen prom was floated by Madison Ford, a 2010 Iola High graduate and former leadership student, Gapa said. When adviser Jodi Grover told the students about Ford’s idea, Gapa and Leigh quickly volunteered to make it happen.
“We thought it was a great idea,” Gapa said.
Folks of all ages — there is no limit — will be invited to dance to music provided by Iolan Scott Stewart from 2 to 4 p.m. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.
The deadline to RSVP for corsages or boutonnieres was Thursday, “but we expect more calls to come in,” Gapa said.
Casual attire is more than welcome, Leigh added.
“They can come in with whatever they’re wearing or their Sunday best,” Leigh said.
Prom-goers also will not need a date.
“One lady called asking about not having a date,” Gapa said. “We told her that there would be plenty of young gentlemen ready to dance with her.”
The goal, the students said repeatedly, was to get older residents and high-schoolers to interact.
Gapa expected most of her 31 fellow IHS leadership program students to be on hand to serve as chaperones — or dance partners.
“Hopefully, a lot of people show up,” she said. “We want to bridge this generational gap.”
She carries no expectations for turnout.
“Of course, we’re excited about it, but we know it may take a few years for word about this to spread,” Gapa said. “But we really hope the students and the adults interact. That’s what we want most to happen.”
Wanted: Dance partners of all ages
