The fourth annual Gowns4Grads&Tuxes2 (G4G&T2) was another great success, says Olds High School Interact Club staff advisor Tane Skotheim.
The Interact Club organizes the event.
Students model gently used gowns or tuxes that have been donated. Their fellow students can then decide to purchase them if they wish at reduced prices. For example, dresses run from $50 to $150.
This year, 28 girls modelled dresses. Last year 35 models did so.
They had about 100 gowns to model, down from about 120 last year.
Skotheim says there are a couple of reasons for that.
Any gowns that have been shown twice are sent off to similar organizations in Whitehorse and Mexico, so several were gone for that reason.
In addition, organizers simply didn't receive as much formal wear this year as they have in previous years.
Six suits were modelled. That's on par with previous years. Tuxes have only been offered for a couple of years. In total, about 20 tuxes are available for boys to obtain.
Skotheim and the Interact Club are very grateful for the approximately 60 volunteers who help make the event happen each year.
She says it's always a big undertaking.
"Getting in and out of the dresses requires somebody to dress you at times because they've got the corsets and the ties they're in. So just in order to model the dresses takes us about 45 people.
"And then we have five or six guys modelling the suits and then we have some people running sound and then we have some people kind of managing the crowd for us. So it takes us about 60 volunteers to host this event.
"Our cosmetology students and Lee (Cenaiko) of Zebedeez Hair Design come and do hair and makeup for the students so that's another crowd of volunteers.
"We have them with us from 3:15 until 9 o'clock at night. And they are flat out working," Skotheim says.
A potluck supper, provided with the help of local businesses, is also provided.
There was a new wrinkle his year. A mini market was set up offering everything from jewelry to makeup.
"It was kind of fun to incorporate that. We had four vendors, so we're looking to kind of build that if we can," Skotheim says.
She notes the suits are not only available for grad, but also for other formal occasions.
"What we do too is football players, hockey players, all the kids who are involved in sports and have been asked to wear suits, that's a pretty hefty price tag by the time you cover the cost of everything else. And so if we have something that would work for you, you're more than welcome to look at that too," she says.
All in all, Skotheim says this year's edition of G4G&T2 went well.
"Just as a result of the gala, we have gifted or sold two suits and about 14 dresses, including some of the shorter dinner dresses," she says.
"We'll continue to have them available for people to come and look at throughout the school year, but it was nice to kind of have this little bit of a rush right after the gala."
Skotheim stresses organizers aren't looking to make money from this project. They will give them to families if they can't pay for them. Any money that is made goes into a fund to purchase a gown or rent a tux if they don't have one in the right size.
