Return of Sadies

By Faith Nguyen, Copy Editor

Courtesy of JAYSON ANTONIO PHOTOGRAPHY

After two years of successful Winter Formals, 2020 brings the return of the Sadie Hawkins dance. Led by ASB’s junior cabinet, “Dancing through the Decades” marked the comeback of the beloved dance, the last one being in 2016. The event took place at Boomers in Irvine with an overall turnout of about 560 people.

The switch from Winter Formal to Sadies brought many changes, the most notable being the venue and attire.

Formals of the past have been held at the Discovery Science Cube and the Aquarium of the Pacific, both of which included a more traditional school dance layout: a large, designated dance floor, very few low-profile activities, and photo opportunities. Sadies, however, brought a variety of arcade games, rock climbing, golfing, and most popular, go-karts.

Aside from activities, formals are known for being as the name suggests– formal. In prom-like fashion, students would arrive in floor length dresses or suits. This year’s Sadies architects took a different approach to dress code.

“We [sophomore cabinet] wanted people to go all out in terms of the theme,” sophomore class president Christian Seong said. “One way we motivated students was by posting a series of different inspo pictures for people to dress up as.”

However, with the myriad of activities comes at a price higher than some would expect, the final sale being $65 with or without an ASB card.

“The cost of the dance was figured by, not only the cost of Boomers itself but also by what my vendor brought in, [...] the desserts, and the drinks, and the DJ’s and all the gear and all the light,” ASB advisor John Hoganson said. “My per head cost was about $47 per person and our total cost at the end was not a lot more than that. All that money just gets rolled into depositing into the next dance.”

The tradition of Sadie Hawkins begins before the dance even starts. Unlike Prom or Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins encourages girls to ask their dates to the dance. This derives from the Li’l Abner comic stip, in which the unmarried women of Dogpatch would chase around bachelors and marry the ones they caught. The somewhat outdated comic now brings the practice of grandiose askings. This tradition was encouraged by the Junior cabinet, who hosted a proposal asking competition. The prize included two free Sadies tickets, a Men’s spa kit, and a $50 Luminous Nail Bar gift card. The winners were Christine Lee and Joseph Umali.

“I’m glad I had an opportunity to hang out with all of my friends before AP testing,” senior Shailen Patel said.

The main reaction to the comeback dance was positive. The go-karts fueled exhilaration through acceleration, many students challenged their peers to rock climbing competitions; many activities were provided that other dances simply lack. With the alternation of Winter Formal and Sadies every year, students will always be given the opportunity for a fun night.