Prom Preview to promote safe, fun prom nights

Aiken Technical College is hosting an event to help high schoolers prep for Prom.

Prom Preview 2011 will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at ATC's Student Activities Center. Doors open at 4 p.m., and admission is free.

The event is sponsored by the Aiken Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Services, the Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE) Team of Aiken County, the Second Judicial Circuit Alcohol Enforcement Team, the Aiken Career Center, The Edge Salon & Spa, Men's Wearhouse of Augusta and ATC.

"We're going to have 31 vendors from different organization. We have Teen Pregnancy Center, HIV services, fashion, The Edge Salon & Spa will be there, Men's Wearhouse will be there, Cookie Jewelry will be there, Mary Kay, Avon, lots more," said Princess Johnson, prevention specialist with the Aiken Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Services. "The Aiken Career & Technology Center will be providing hair and makeup services for the girls, and The Edge is providing the dresses; Men's Wearhouse is providing the suits for the guys."

The event will feature a fashion show with models from area high schools, refreshments, a slate of speakers and vendor booths. Vendors will offer the latest and hippest in formal wear, tuxedos, accessories, food, jewelry, shoes, flowers, music, photography and more.

Along with the fun of formal frills, the event will also feature education for teens about the dangers of mixing prom night and alcohol.

There will be SAFE Team skits illustrating some of the possible negative outcomes of prom night drinking, and students will be invited to take the SAFE Sober Prom Night Pledge.

"We want to send the kids a message they can have a good time but they don't have to drink and drive. We want them to stay sober and stay alive," Johnson said.

For more information about Prom Preview 2011, call the Aiken Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Services at 649-1900, ext. 326.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.