With Arrowhead’s 2016 “Rustic Moonlight” prom approaching, many students are buzzing with anticipation. Like many years, Arrowhead will be hosting the dance at the local resort, waterpark, and conference center Country Springs. The dance will be April 16th, beginning at 6:15pm and end at midnight, sending Arrowhead’s students home or to their after-parties.

But Arrowhead proms have changed over the years. Many stories and rumors have been passed down from when Arrowhead’s prom used to feature a post-prom included with the cost of tickets. Or of when the dance was annually hosted at the Milwaukee County Zoo — a practice allegedly ended by the abduction of an innocent penguin.

Tracy Tomczyk and Chad Tschanz are alumni from Class of 1999, who had their prom hosted at the Milwaukee County Zoo’s Peck Pavilion. Now, Tomczyk is a one of Arrowhead’s Spanish teachers and Tschanz is an Arrowhead physics teacher.

And while Tomczyk says she can’t remember any particular prom theme, she says the dance featured ice sculptures. Tschanz says he remembers the decorations featuring plenty of tinsel and crepe paper.

What Tschanz remembers the most about his prom is riding to the dance in a limo, and afterwards staying up until dawn with his friends and watching the Austin Powers movies at home.

Another notable change is technology.

“There were no camera phones to check out your photos immediately or social media sites to post on,” says Tomczyk. “So we had to get our film developed at Walgreens, Walmart, or Target and then pass them around class if you wanted to share them with friends.”

Tomczyk says the dances were some of the best memories of high school, because of the few and far in between opportunities there are to get dressed up and dance after high school.

“It’s [really] too bad that AHS doesn’t have TWIRP anymore like when I was a student here,” she says, referring to an Arrowhead take on Sadie Hawkin’s dances that was discontinued in 2012 due to lack of attendance. “It was nice that freshmen through seniors could participate.”

Nick Brengosz, class of 2007, and presently an Arrowhead math teacher, says he also wishes that Arrowhead still had TWIRP — an acronym for ‘The Woman Is Required to Pay.’

“It’s a shame that the school got rid of TWIRP, just because it’s a break for the guys spending money on dances,” says Brengosz.

    Brengosz attended both his junior and senior year proms. As a junior, the dance was hosted at the zoo like years in the past, but the location was moved to hotel, conference center, and former ski-resort Olympia in 2007.

One of Brengosz’s prom themes was Casino Royale, based off the 2006 James Bond movie. The dance was “very formal with black tie,” with many casino decorations such as dice and gambling themes.

“For me, [prom] was all about sharing the last go-around with my friends. In that way, my senior prom was the most fun,” says Brengosz. “It’s really the last formal time that you’ll get to hang around some of your friends.”

Just three years later in 2010, Janelle Hobbs, Arrowhead math teacher, attended her senior prom. That year the “Masquerade Ball” was still located at the Olympia Ski Resort.

Hobbs reports that the decorations were “very fancy,” with everyone wearing masquerade masks and the most memorable decorations being ice sculptures.

“I think at the time [the tickets] seem super expensive,” says Hobbs. “But the memories will last forever making it totally worth it.”

Meanwhile Mitchel Lewis, Arrowhead Class of 2013, had his “Under the Sea” prom at Country Springs, where he was a part time lifeguard at the time.

Lewis said he enjoyed his senior prom with friends, although what he says he remembers most is his date cutting her foot on the broken glass that other students had brought in with them.

Despite this, Lewis said that, “I don’t think proms are worth [the money,] but they are fun. I’m glad I went at least once.”

“I like school dances a lot,” says Taylor Maniaci, one of Arrowhead’s most recent alumni of the 2015 graduating class. “The DJs and stuff may not have always been the greatest, but most people always had fun, including me.”

Just last year, at Maniaci’s prom, the theme was “Emerald City,” a reference to the 1900 Wizard of Oz book and the more commonly known 1939 film.

Maniaci’s dance was at Country Springs, where she was also working as a lifeguard at the time. Last year, the decorations featured plenty of green lighting to mimic the effect of the green city, as well as green tablecloths, centerpieces, and a yellow brick road to lead the way.

Now with the 2016 prom less than two weeks away, everyone is eager to see how their prom will compare with ones of the past. Although senior Olivia Van Airsdale and many others seem skeptical of how the formal ballroom will work with the rustic theme.

“An actual barn would have been a better choice,” says Van Airsdale. “It would have really gone with the theme. And I just think everyone’s dresses will be way too fancy, it won’t feel rustic at all.”

Regardless, everyone is hoping this “Rustic Moonlight” will be a night to remember.