Nearly 400 students gathered in the Craig Paine theater lobby to dance the night away at the 2018 Sadie Hawkin’s dance. The dance was held from 7-10 p.m. on February 9 and featured a new entrance, amazing decorations, and a top-notch DJ.

Instead of walking through the first set of glass doors in front of the theater, students were guided towards the back of the building to enter through the rear of the theater lobby. This non-traditional entrance allowed students the opportunity to admire the decorations and atmosphere of the dance before being swept away by the beat of the music.

“The new entrance to Sadie’s made everything a lot less chaotic and opened up the dance floor tremendously. Although there was some extra walking, it was definitely worth it due to the expansion of space,” junior Sara Phillips said.

After a week that included 3 snow days, advised by Mr. Madden, yearbook and journalism students worked tirelessly the Friday of the dance to create a new and improved Sadie’s atmosphere. With a combination of the both classes working together, the delicate signs were hung, streamers were wrapped around the columns, and the water jugs were wheeled in for refreshments.

The lights were hung in three separate sections that each required patience and an eye for detail.

The front beam of the lobby area was tediously strung with 136 feet of dazzling lights, hung by Mr. Madden and Andrew Polowy. The railing overlooking the dancefloor was also decorated in lights by Olivia Groller, Jake Caserta, Crystal Renaldi, and Colby Toth.

“It was really fun. We spent the whole day decorating and we put a lot of hard work into it,” senior Olivia Groller said. “I personally think it turned out really great.”

When the crowd first walked in through the newly designated entrance, they were welcomed by a twinkling canopy of lights above them that set the enchanted mood for the evening.

“The decorations were really great to see, as they filled the somewhat empty room. The curtain of lights above looked really awesome and were nice to see when the other lights in the room were turned off,” junior Paolo Bartolucci said.

Dedicated seniors Andrew Polowy, Amelia O’Brien, and Emily Gordon manned the ladder and perfected every bulb in the light canopy. By strategically hanging the lights, the numerous strands formed an eye-dazzling decoration. Although the finished piece looked perfect, the process of hanging it was far from it.

“Mr. Madden and I ran into some difficulties hanging the canopy. The ladder wasn’t the safest so I had to stabilize it while he was climbing on it, and we had to throw the lights over to Amelia and Emily upstairs, which was rather tedious and difficult,” senior Andrew Polowy said.

The effect was well worth it, as students enjoyed the mood lighting and impressive new decorations.

After gazing at the twinkling lights, students were greeted by DJ Shevy (Shavaugn Morris). As a Bangor alumni and former homecoming king, Shevy knew it was important to make this Sadie’s the best one yet, and most would agree that he surely succeeded.

“I thought his music was phenomenal, which made it the best Sadie’s in all of my three years. His transitions were also really dope,” junior Akash Sareen said. “I talked to him after the dance and he said that he didn’t feel that it was his best performance, so I’m really curious to see what his best performance would be like.”

The center piece of the entire dance was the large sign hung from the main railing above everyone on the dance floor. Thanks to seniors Kara Caton, who designed and painted the sign, as well as Allyson Heard, Amelia O’Brien, and Lauren Haffling the extravagant sign was hung perfectly straight, and brought the dance altogether.

“It was super annoying to cut each individual piece of tape and still have to hold the poster to keep it from falling,” senior Lauren Haffling said. “But it was truly such a relief once the tape held and it finally stayed put.”

The 2018 Sadie Hawkin’s dance paved the way for years to come, setting the bar even higher.