With children back in school, Eagles Lodge No. 766 is inviting parents to come “cut a rug” to close out the week.
Eagles, located at 20 E. Franklin St. in Shelbyville, is hosting an adult prom from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday.
The event is for anyone in the community 21 years old and older.
There will be a $15 fee at the door.
The theme is “Then and Now” or “Now and Then,” Angie Knight, one of the organizers said.
“It’s been said both ways,” she said with a laugh.
Eagles has been limited in hosting events due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is in a better place to do so now that cases have decreased.
Mobile Jams DJ Bret Fishback will provide music and there will be a cash bar and snacks to eat. There will not be a dinner available because of how late the prom begins.
Friday was chosen knowing that parents could use a night to recover from summer vacation coming to an end and their children returning to school.
“We’re trying to get the community to know we’re still here,” she said. “Usually the community is very generous when we do have a charitable thing come about. They donate a lot to us. We just figured this would be something fun to get people to come back in and see what we’re about.”
Knight, a past president at Eagles Lodge No. 766, said that Indianapolis radio station 99.5 WZPL FM has hosted adult proms in the past and she wanted to bring it to Shelbyville.
“We just figure, it’s great timing with (students going) back to school. Maybe parents need a break from all the schools, trying to get everything back together.”
Organizers started planning the event about two and a half months ago. Through the process, Knight said she heard a lot of prom stories.
“Some have been good, some have been bad, and some have been ‘woah,’” she said with a laugh.
There is no dress code for the Elks Adult Prom.
Participants are free to wear whatever they want. And if they wish to wear a decades-themed outfit, such as something from the 1980s, they are free to do so.
The colors are gold, silver and black.
Those attending should enter through the back door because it has a ramp that makes the building accessible to wheelchair-bound visitors.
Knight said they hope to make the adult prom an annual thing, with the idea that the annual car shows are targeted toward men and the prom is targeted toward women.
