What started as a strategy to limit Covid cases at Chardon turned into a prom exclusive to seniors. Once hopeful juniors canceled any and all prom preparations. Nobody was disappointed for long, though, because the panel of Juniors on Chardon High School’s student council pieced together a winter formal dance on Friday, January 28. Admission was just $5, available to Juniors only (and their dates). 

The winter ball, with a formal dress code, was meant to make up for the prom which juniors would have missed out on. 

“We figured it would be a good opportunity to have fun and dance with friends,” student council officer Julianne Sweet said. 

Designated the Hilltopper Hoedown, a name that stuck because it was alliterative, would be different from past school dances. Juniors would be given the opportunity to have majority control over the music playlist, meaning that it was tailored to fit the crowd in attendance. 

“Sometimes when you get a DJ, the students don’t love the music,” Sweet said, “but this time we are confident that everyone will enjoy the music.” According to attendees, this was a major contributor to the dance’s success. 

Around half of the junior class attended the dance, and the students seem to collectively agree on the dance’s success; the music and lights did not disappoint the crowd. 

“We ended up selling nearly 100 tickets to the junior class,” junior class vice president and co-planner of the dance Faith Kilfoyle said.

The music was a big hit at the dance, just as the student council members predicted. The panel of DJ’s featured Chardon’s own Captains of the Crazies, Kyle Mirande, Sierra Feller, and Brooke Mckelvey.

“We saved a lot of money this way,” Kilfoyle said, “It was really fun to have kids our age being in charge of the dance.”

While both Homecoming and The Hoedown required formal attire, students appreciated the fact that The Hoedown was more laid back overall. They also enjoyed the fact that it was a dance exclusively for the class of 2023. As for The Hoedown’s future, juniors are looking into the possibility of passing it down to the next junior class, making it an annual tradition. 

“Since juniors aren’t able to go to prom anymore, it’s kind of nice to have a formal with your class,” Kilfoyle said.