Baby, it’s cold outside Blue Marlin

December 9th, 6:30 pm.

A girl in a knee-length dress walks slowly and carefully in her 5 cm heels alongside a young boy in a suit, lean and tall. The temperature hitting as low as 4 degrees, and the wind sent shivers down their spines. A group of girls, laughing and excited, try to warm themselves up by jumping around in the cold and telling each other to hurry. Their destination: “Blue Moon” Winter Formal.

This year’s annual Winter Formal event took place on a cold Saturday night from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. A total of 140 students, chaperones, and High School Student Council members gathered at  Big Thumb Plaza’s Blue Marlin, a cozy bar-restaurant. Compared to past Winter Formals, the event was half an hour shorter, had more singing performances, and the venue had two floors but was slightly less “formal.” This, however, gave Blue Moon a slightly different vibe than past years, which added a hint of excitement. For two and a half hours, the attendees danced to the DJ’s beat, enjoyed Blue Marlin’s finger foods, and took photos at the photo booth. During the event, members of the club took turns performing songs such as “Fly me to the Moon,” “Perfect,” and “When We Were Young” to name a few. “I liked the live singing because it added to the vibrancy of the dance,” Stephanie Qiu (9A) commented.

Behind the scenes, Student Council had been working hard. Officers were looking for possible venues starting last summer vacation and had even established a Winter Formal Committee for further planning. The two historians Yaya Yu (12C) and Rene Van Steenbergen (12A) were in charge of leading the Winter Formal Committee. When asked about what obstacles the officers and team ran into during the planning process, Yaya answered, “The most difficult part of planning Winter Formal was finding an affordable venue without losing the atmosphere. Although the venue this year was not as fancy, we managed to decorate [it] to keep the ticket prices reasonable for all students.”

However, with more ticket sales than the past few years, STUCO did not run into any huge problems during the event. Overall, Winter Formal successfully accommodated the fun and festivity for the attendees. One thing that the attendees enjoyed was the energy of the dance. Angel Wang (12B) commented, “Winter Formal this year was very exciting, and almost everybody was very energetic.” Stephanie also agreed. “I loved the upbeat music and the colorful lights and the food.”

Featured Image – Students pose at the photo booth Courtesy of Benson Lin