Five hundred and thirty four students danced under twinkling lights at this year’s Winter Formal, held at Gilroy Gardens on Dec. 7, enjoying park rides, a hot cocoa bar and a theme of a Parisian night.
“The Winter Formal turned out to be a lot of fun,” junior dance commissioner Diya Ravi said. “People seemed to enjoy themselves, and it felt like a positive experience for everyone.” She noted high participation levels, with numerous students dancing, taking photos in the photo booth and riding the park’s rides.
Upon exiting the buses at around 6 p.m. at the park, attendees made their way to a large pavilion with colorful Christmas lights hanging from the roof, enjoying access to food and a hot cocoa bar. However, the food at the venue received mixed reactions, as junior ASB club commissioner Nirvan Shah pointed out the recurring issue of food at school dances.
“Everyone went to get food the second the bus dropped students off, which made [students] feel like there were not enough seats and not enough food for everyone. So a lot of people had to eat after [Winter Formal]. For example, my friends and I had to drive to In-N-Out because we didn’t get any food,” Shah said.
Ravi added that the food choices were limited, mentioning that vegetarian options could be improved at future events. She also noted that since the dinner and ride times allotted overlapped with one another and ended earlier compared to dance floor access, students could not go on as many rides as they wished.
Students swing around on the Mushroom Swing ride.
Despite this, most students could make their way to some of the rides and enjoy their time. For example, there were low-thrill rides such as a small balloon-themed carousel and a moderate-thrill rollercoaster with a Gold Rush theme. Shah added that more detailed navigation and information about the rides ahead of time would have improved the event.
“After I went on the banana ride three times, I went on the train and saw how big the park was, so we were kind of bummed out about that,” Shah said.
Besides the rides, the ice skating rink and winter decorations received positive feedback, highlighting the unique activities compared to past venues. The skating rink was decorated with bright lights and groups of people on the side learning how to skate. In the chilly weather, fake snow sprinkled from machines as colorful lights were wrapped along the trees in the main walking area.
Sophomore Seabert Mao uses training cones on his first-ever skate.
At Great America in 2022, the rainy weather meant attendees had to stay enclosed in a small pavilion, allowing for them to do only a few activities. Following the amusement park venue, Dave and Busters in 2023 was highly restrictive in its activities, with a small dance floor and only arcade machines as entertainment.
As students made their way to the dance floor this year, they were greeted by a variety of songs from various genres such as rap, pop and R&B. Some notable songs that were played included “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes, “FE!N” by Travis Scott and “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus, resulting in a large mosh pit in the center of the dance floor. Spaced between these songs were slower songs such as “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran, where there was a more relaxed atmosphere.
A group of junior girls happily dance to the beats.
Reflecting on the event, Shah said that the night was an overall success and based on student feedback, hints toward suggestions for next year’s formal.
“I think [it went] good [and] felt like people were having fun, so that was good. Next year, we should do it in a place where it’s more indoors because I know people are cold, and this would involve better distribution of food,” Shah said.
