Bainbridge High School will host their Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory themed prom this Saturday in the school gymnasium. The Promenade will begin at 7:30 and the dance is from 8:30-11:30 p.m.

When juniors obtain the rite of passage to attend prom, it becomes something they look forward to all year long. Finding the perfect dress, getting a promposal, and renting a limousine are only part of the fun. The real enjoyment comes from the memories that last a lifetime.

Some of Bainbridge High’s faculty and staff members shared their fondest prom memories in preparation for this momentous occasion.

Mycla Baker’s prom took place in the school lunchroom, but before the dance all the seniors would promenade at Willis Park. However, Baker’s year it rained and the school moved it to the coliseum, where it would be held for years to come. Baker attended both years with just her friends. They went out to dinner in Tallahassee junior and senior year. After dinner, junior year Baker and her friends went to the bowling alley, but senior year they stayed in Tallahassee and went to Fun Station, where they played putt-putt and rode go karts in their dresses. Baker said her favorite part was the laughing and fun they had and the many inside jokes they made up that night.

Her craziest prom memory was her sophomore year, where two hours before the limo was supposed to pick her up, her senior date called and cancelled to take another girl.

“Mortifying, heartbreaking, all of the above,” Baker said. “I can laugh about it now, though, and I have moved on beyond that.”

While Baker chose to leave early in order to enjoy other fun activities, some teachers almost didn’t make it due to medical emergencies.

Ninth grade counselor, Jennifer Voyles, remembers her senior year prom vividly. The school didn’t host a dance, but a group of parents hosted a planned dance at the Kirbo Center. She, along with a group of friends, were on the way to the dance when her friend started seizing. Her friend has POTS, but Voyles knew what to do.

“I had to straddle her in my prom dress and keep her head up.”

The friend eventually came to and while it was scary, they laugh about it now.

The other teachers’ most memorable moments came long after the night ended.

Art teacher, Rebecca Cole, was hosting a huge breakfast at her house after prom ended. She said her mom had been working on it nonstop and making breakfast casserole, pancakes and all the fixings, but her mom was working hard to carve a watermelon into a basket and put fruit into it. While carving, Cole’s mother cut her finger off and the family had to go to the emergency room.

“There were like fifty people at our house and my mom just cut her finger off, so we weren’t sure what to do,” Cole said.

A teacher, who wishes to remain unnamed, said his night ended a little differently. He had an after party at the Powell residence, where it turned into a WWF smack down by the end of the night. When asked if the smack down involved a girl, he said “doesn’t it always?”

While he hopes no other student’s night ends like this, all the teachers assure the students it will always be a night to remember and a night to cherish. For information on dress code and timing of events, visit www.boe.dcboe.com.