On Saturday April 20th, Friends upperclassmen began arriving on campus at 6 pm. Students headed towards the Middle School to sign themselves and their guests in.

Next, seniors were invited to the ZAC to mingle with friends, take photos, spend time with their families, and enjoy treats provided by parents. Meantime, juniors and their families surrounded the Middle School entrance and posed for photos along the steps leading to the Upper School building.

When the clock struck 6:30, juniors were summoned to take a class photo on the stairs. Rows of parents lined up to grab pictures and videos. Then, juniors went back to mingling and grabbing snacks from the snack table, while seniors lined up along the stairs for a photo.

Next, three yellow buses pulled up the middle school parking lot. A sea of students ran to secure seats alongside their friends for the 17-minute drive to the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood.

Students piled off the buses and into the lobby of the hotel. Some were dazzled by what they saw.

“The inside was beautiful and I felt like it was an amazing venue for my first prom,” said junior Isabelle Ruley.

There were three elevators, and groups of students hopped on and headed to the 12th floor. When they exited the elevators, students were greeted by teachers, a large appetizer buffet, and a ballroom with white tables. They rushed to the buffet to get their starting course: crab dip with crackers, salad, and fruit and cheeses. 

Next, many students headed to the ballroom to listen to the music by DJ OK, and chat with their friends. Many also grabbed drinks from tables set up around the room.

An hour later, dinner was served. Once again, students rushed the buffet tables. They were told to wait six minutes, so the rest of the food could be brought out. The line grew long. But when the food was finally open to students, there were sliders with and without cheese, mac and cheese, carrot and celery sticks, and pizza.

Students slowly began filing back into the ballroom to eat and chat. After dinner, students hit the dance floor, and danced to songs like Wobble and “Party In the U.S.A.”

The dance came to an end at 11:30 pm, and students were ushered back to the buses and driven back to Friends. From there, they went their separate ways, and Prom 2024 was complete.