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The Chroncile Herald,
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA Tuesday March 13, 2007
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By BILL POWER Staff Reporter
Kayleigh McNeil is excited about graduating from Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth, but she’s not so keen about the escalating cost of the prom. "I was looking at dresses and some were $500 and $600. . . . I have to get my hair done, my nails done, a limo, shoes, makeup and my prom ticket is like $70," the 17-year-old said of the upcoming celebration.
Instead of blowing a bundle on a dress to wear for one night, Kayleigh and her mother Kathy were among the throng of bargain hunters at Halifax Shopping Centre on Sunday for the Gown Town sale organized by the shopping centre’s teen advisory board.
About 250 young women were at the mall before it opened at 9 a.m. waiting for an opportunity to buy a previously worn gown for $10, with all proceeds going to Mothers Against Drunk Driving to support safe graduation initiatives.
The gown hunters were allowed into the centre court of the mall in groups of 20 for 20 minutes at a time to check out the estimated 435 dresses donated to the event. Victoria Berrigan, a student at Queen Elizabeth High in Halifax, said the cost of a graduation prom can quickly spiral out of control, so the opportunity to obtain a quality and stylish gown at such a reasonable price is attractive to many students. "It could go into the thousands," said Victoria, a member of the mall’s youth advisory board. "Some people pay hundreds for their dress and then they have to pay for the dinner and the prom night."
Mall spokeswoman Linda Townsend noted the Gown Town event has since its inception in 2003 distributed more than 1,600 gowns to cost-conscious graduates. Ms. Townsend said people from all parts of Nova Scotia donated dresses this year. "We put a five-year age limit on dresses so that they are current and in style," she said.
The shopping centre’s teen advisory board was formed in May 2000 to improve communications between metro youth and Halifax Shopping Centre and to support and raise awareness for youth-related causes.
Among other things, the board has raised more than $15,000 for organizations like Phoenix House, Kids Help Phone, Cops for Cancer and the IWK Health Centre. The board has also operated the Halifax Shopping Centre youth centre on the mall’s upper level for about two years. Erik Fraser, with the youth board, said girls get off easy at graduation time. "It’s the guys that have to pay the most," he said. ( bpower@herald.ca) |
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