Down in the bayou: A Night for the stars

Byline photo of Janai Holland
Janai Holland, Section Editor, Campus News
May 15, 2024
At the LA Zoo, GV's prom guests entered by walking the red carpet, which led to an open area for food, dining, and dancing. - Photo taken on April 26th, 2024 at the LA Zoo
At the LA Zoo, GV’s prom guests entered by walking the red carpet, which led to an open area for food, dining, and dancing. – Photo taken on April 26th, 2024 at the LA Zoo
Dylan Vo

Prom took place April 26th, at 7pm, as this was an event that many seniors and juniors could enjoy. Prom took place at the LA zoo with the theme being “Down in the Bayou”.

Anxious, yet excited, students filtered into the gym in order to be seated on assigned buses. Everyone was thrilled with no idea what to expect for the event. The 30 minute bus ride calmed nerves, and students were dropped off at the entrance of the zoo where they were then escorted to the venue.

Upon entering the venue, students’ expectations were surpassed,with the venue, including catering, carousel, games, dance floor, and many more small activities.

At the LA Zoo, GV’s prom guests entered by walking the red carpet, which led to an open area for food, dining, and dancing. – Photo taken on April 26th, 2024 at the LA Zoo (Dylan Vo)

The options for food included bread & butter, salad, green beans, potatoes, raviolis, and chicken. With many choices to pick from, students began exploring the venue, some went straight to the dance floor while others made some great photographic memories on the carousel.

The animals on the carousel weren’t the only animals students were able to see. Just past the dance floor students had the opportunity to see an elephant exhibit, and past all of the trees was a two story venue where students yearning for what’s next in life could get their fortune told. A few steps away were fishes and up the stairs students could get temporary tattoos.

In the middle of the dance, students headed to the dance floor to enjoy music from the early 90’s and 2000’s. This allowed  students to enjoy time with their friends and the dj having a chance to showcase his skills.

At the LA Zoo, GV’s prom guests entered by walking the red carpet, which led to an open area for food, dining, and dancing. – Photo taken on April 26th, 2024 at the LA Zoo (Dylan Vo)

The night  came to an end at 9:30, and ASB member William Smith called this year’s prom court to the front of the dance floor for the moment they had all been  anticipating all night. This years prom prince and princess winners were Nicholas Hicks and Molly Ibarra, and the prom king and queen were Peter Hall and Leah Schoeni.  As dreams came true each court winner came together for a slow dance as the rest of the crowd slowly joined them.

3e0JXHKfgJpO5bSBZjxUbuWwT1WQKkihOVpETMbO
Dylan Vo
Ending the event was the announcement of the winners of Prom Court. From left to right are the Prom Prince Nicholas Hicks, Prom Princess Molly Ibarra, Prom Queen Leah Schoeni, and Prom King Peter Hall. - Photo taken April 26th 2024 at LA Zoo

After this breathtaking moment the Dj quickly changes the mood allowing students to continue partying through the night.  By the end of the night students headed back down the red carpet and began filtering onto the buses, talking about the fun they had at prom for the last 30 minutes.

Print this Story
About the Contributors
Janai Holland
Janai Holland, Section Editor
Janai Holland, is currently a senior and a Section Editor on the Campus News Team for the Grizzly Gazette.  She is in two diffrent levels of theater. Theater two is children's theater which requires me to have a good personality and be very energetic and theater three is the main stage production, which is the play produced for the school. She is very passionate about storytelling, poetry, and music. She is a part of Golden valleys new clubs, Fables and Films. She is a current member of NSHSS. She is very excited to talk about the Golden Valley community in general, which may include details about new and upcoming clubs, our arts department, and give insight on some students and topics we as a community are unaware about. Writing about these topics will not only be compelling to write about but it will also captivate our audience and give them more information that is valuable to them. Being a student journalist allows her to gain a better understanding of where she goes everyday along with trying to give this same understanding if not a better one to the people in our community.
Dylan Vo
Dylan Vo, Photographer
Dylan Vo is the photographer for the Campus News Team of the Grizzly Gazette. He is currently a senior at Golden Valley High School and has been attending it since his freshman year. On top of his position in the Grizzly Gazette, he is also the Treasurer of both SkillsUSA and DFY in SCV, participates in clubs like Asian Student Union, CSF, and DEI, is a CTE Pathway Completer, and has plenty of hours and experience in community service. He also possesses a Youtube channel with over 1,000 subscribers that documents various topics within video game communities. Some of his interests include editing and posting videos, using Photoshop to create new images and designs, and watching TV shows on platforms like Disney Plus and Netflix. The main reason he joined the Grizzly Gazette was to enhance his journalism skills not only for his channel, but also for the greater good of the school through its newspaper. A couple of topics he covers here at the Grizzly Gazette are campus and online news since he believes students and staff should learn more about the activity occurring on both school grounds and the internet. To him, being a student journalist means not only being a part of something that can make a positive impact on the school, but also exposing writers to both new and old skills that can assist them throughout their lives.