Hopkinsville and Christian County high school seniors will have outdoor proms this year with some changes to accommodate coronavirus safety measures, the school district announced.
The prom dates will be April 16 and 23, both at the Stadium of Champions, and a coin toss will determine which school has each date.
Only seniors and their dates may attend. Students must be passing all of their classes to attend. There will be no charge to attend.
An entrance will begin at 7 p.m., and dancing will be from 8 to 10 p.m. Disc jockeys will provide music.
“Students will be able to remove their masks during the entrance, which will be streamed live for parents and families,” district spokesman John Rittenhouse said in a news release. “Parents will not be permitted to attend prom entrance activities in order to limit crowd size. Students will be required to wear masks during other prom activities.”
Temperature checks will be done in the stadium parking lot.
“This plan is contingent on local COVID data numbers continuing to trend downward,” Rittenhouse said.
In the event of rain, that prom would be delayed a week, the district said.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.