Last weekend, HPHS students traveled down to the Field Museum for “A Night to Remember” at Prom 2026! With nearly two-hundred students and their dates attending, it was a busy night as they danced, ate, and took in some of their final moments of high school.
The night started off around 6:30 pm with a buffet-style dinner that included chicken sandwiches, miniature hot dogs, cookie and brownie squares with milk, and several other meticulously crafted food items. Students were also able to take pictures out on the North Terrace while enjoying the Chicago skyline at twilight, although all students were asked to remain inside after 8:00 pm. Additionally, well-known exhibits—including the Elizabeth Hubert Mallot Hall of Jades and the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet (where the famous tyrannosaurus rex Sue resides)—were open for observation.
At around 9:00pm, the upstairs area of the museum was closed off, and the music began. As the sun dipped below Lake Michigan, Banda la Especial de Chicago–an energetic, Sinaloan-style Mexican band–set the tone for the rest of the night. Other dances and music included the Hora—a traditional circle dance performed at Jewish weddings. Finally, the night closed out with slow dancing music.
Because prom is a formal event, fashion trends were fairly uniform: nearly every student wore a suit, tuxedo, or dress, with the main distinction being dress length (long dresses for seniors and shorter, homecoming-style dresses for non-seniors). Students did get creative, however, with the color of their ties, and dresses of all sorts of shapes made an appearance.
Other than attire, an emerging trend that has spread across campuses in the United States made its way to HP Prom: hacky sack, better known as “sacking.” Several students from the varsity baseball team—who were named as the sixth best team in the Illinois Hacky Sack rankings—were “kickin’ it” on the steps of the North Terrace, nailing complex moves amongst a scenic city background!
Overall, this year’s prom was seen as a success and a memorable experience for many. Now concluding his third year as Activities Director, Dr. Stephenson expressed some of the successes for this year’s prom, including the venue and the organization:
“It was cool to see our students at such a historic place in Chicago, especially because the Field Museum rarely hosts high school proms,” Stephenson said. “With such a multi-racial, multi-religious, diverse school, seeing them enjoy music from different cultures made it a great vibe.”
There were some things that some students felt could have been improved. Senior Grace Tipescu, who also attended prom last year, expressed some of her objections to the flexibility of food and activity options.
“I thought that they could have kept the exhibits open longer,” Tipescu said. “There were also no vegetarian options for vegetarian people. I enjoyed being there with my friends, but I think there wasn’t enough to do.”
Some of these concerns will hopefully be addressed as the 2027 Class Council finalizes their decision for next year’s venue. While students had mixed opinions about certain aspects of the night, many still appreciated the opportunity to spend one last evening together before graduating this week. From the dancing to the photos with friends, prom remained a memorable milestone for seniors celebrating the end of their high school journey.
As the music faded and the doors were closed, they were left with memories that will follow them long after they move onto the next chapter of their lives.