News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Livingston Academy’s prom will see a new venue this year.
Librarian and Prom Coordinator Wendy Padgett said that they have decided to hold prom at the courthouse square for the first time ever. Padgett said that they were inspired by a viral video from a town in Kentucky.
“I think the whole community was impacted by COVID and everything that it brought,” Padgett said. “But everybody wants to pitch in and they remember, you remember how special it was and how wonderful it was and that’s what we want to have for them as well. ”
Padgett said that the prom on the square has also turned into a learning experience for students. She said that some classes have taken to using the experience to learn good fundraising and budgeting techniques.
Not only does the Livingston Academy prom involve the school, but Padgett said that the Livingston community as a whole has come together. She said that businesses around the square will decorate their facades for photo ops, and that city employees will help set up and decorate the square itself.
“It’s going to be phenomenal,” Padgett said. “I can’t tell you everything because we have some surprises for the kids as well. But the community has pitched in and they have come up with great ideas to add to this even more so and really have taken this over the top compared to what we originally started with: a small, hand-drawn plan, and it has become just superb. But it’s taking lots and lots of planning and working because basically all our kids are busy that day because it’s their prom and they have to get dressed and take photos and all that kind of stuff. So we’ll be doing it with the city workers and trying to make it all right.”
Padgett said that the planning process has been a partnership between the junior class, families, community leaders and local business owners. She said that one local venue, the Iron and Oak Event Center, offered to hold the date free of charge in case of weather.
