By McLean Grimes
Staff Writer
Costa’s ASB hosted this year’s prom with the theme “Costa Spectacular” on Saturday, June 5th from 6 to 10 P.M. at the Westdrift in Manhattan Beach.
The process to get “Costa Spectacular” approved by LA County was lengthy. However, ASB teacher Lisa Claypoole and Mira Costa principal Dr. Ben Dale worked to get prom plans approved for the seniors, a process which took several meetings and negotiations.
“Since Dr. Dale returned, he has been working long hours and given his time and energy to make this event happen for the kids,” Claypoole said.
To attend prom, students had to wear masks, socially distance during dances, and provide a negative Covid test or proof of vaccination prior to arrival. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, only Costa seniors attended “Costa Spectacular.” In addition, Costa booked 3 separate rooms to accommodate the 600 seniors, with 200 students per room.
“I felt like the Covid guidelines didn’t affect my prom experience that much, except for half the people being in a different room. There wasn’t a lot of dancing, but I was still able to hang out with a lot of different people,” senior Michelle Toyooka said.
Single tickets were sold so each person could pick the room they preferred. This enabled students to be in the same room as other guests that they would like to attend with. In a normal year, tickets would cost around $85-$110. However, this year there were higher expenses because of the multiple venues — the ticket costs rose accordingly, averaging between $90 and $120.
“I was happy we were able to pick our rooms with our friends and not be randomly placed into a room,” senior Chase Grimes said.
In each room, there was a DJ and a dance block, food and drinks, and a variety of activities. These included casino night games, a photobooth, a palm reader and a caricature artist.
“Prom was really fun this year and all costa seniors were super happy to have even experienced a prom. Big thanks to Mrs. Claypoole for working her hardest to make it all happen,” senior JB Revell said.
Prom Royalty court was also a part of this year’s dance. Prior to the event, students voted for nominees Livy Arensdorf, Jillian Cherry, Emma Clarke, Lydia Johnson, Katie Lieb, Precia Rhee, Josh Beste, Jacob Less, Sammy Liu, Darren Ng, JB Revell, and Joe Staszcow. At the event, Sammy Liu and JB Revell were selected as Prom Royalty.
“[It] feels really nice to be voted prom king. I genuinely appreciate everyone who voted for me. Everyone on the prom court was the winner in my eyes,” Revell said.
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