Parents hold makeshift prom for Lakeville, Minn. students who missed out
Parents took matters into their own hands after prom was cancelled for students in Lakeville, Minn. (FOX 9)
LAKEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - School districts around the state have cancelled prom for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic.
At Lakeville North High School, the district had Grand March on Saturday; but some parents didn’t feel that was enough for their kids, so they took the situation into their own hands.
"Living through the pandemic with children it’s kind of one heartbreak after another that you’re delivering to your kids," parent Jessica Freeburg said. "You just keep having to tell them one more thing is taken away."
Just over two weeks ago at a school board meeting, Jessica received the latest heartbreak for her family, when she learned that prom would not happen in 2021.
"Every time you tell them something a little spark inside of them just kind of goes out, you just watch a little bit of that joy fade," Jessica said.
"It’s just kind of tough, it’s a lot of stuff that you look forward to," Jessica’s son Logan Freeburg added. "Our junior prom, and our senior homecoming, and we weren’t going to get our senior prom, but now we got this."
With the school’s prom called off, Logan’s mom Jessica decided to put one on herself.
"I just posted on my Facebook page ‘does anyone have a barn that we could host prom in,’" Jessica explained.
More brainstorming turned the idea of a barn into a local hotel ballroom complete with a red carpet.
"A group of parents popped in and did all of the decorating and signed up to volunteer," Jessica told FOX 9. "Everyone just pulled together and made it truly, truly a magical night for them."
In all, the group expected around 180 guests wearing face coverings.
"We’re definitely doing all we can to make sure they have a safe but memorable and fun experience," Jessica said.
"It means a lot to us because we were kind of thinking that we weren’t going to get anything out of this senior year," Logan said. "This is really big for us to actually get something that we’re going to be able to remember from senior year."
The group also says many of the kids are fully vaccinated.