Wadsworth High Travels to Kalahari for After Prom

Wadsworth High School hosted prom on Saturday, May 13. Following the dance, Wadsworth High School holds an “After Prom ” event for the seniors and other guests which historically has taken place at the Middle School. However, this year the after-prom has been moved to the indoor water park, Kalahari located in Sandusky Ohio.

Tessa Blake and Solomon Callaghan take a picture inside Kalahari. The two seniors attended after prom and enjoyed the many different aspects Kalahari had to offer. Photo by Tessa Blake

After the dance, students loaded onto buses and traveled an hour and 17 minutes to the indoor waterpark.

Here students had the option to go swimming or do other activities the resort offered like games, and a free buffet for the students.

Senior, Kenna Kemple shared how she enjoyed being able to do other things than just swimming.

“I love all the little activities that we got to do,” Kemple said. “Laser tag, putt-putt, escape rooms, and a mirror maze.”

After prom, not being held at its original location, caused some controversy among the senior class. Tessa Blake, a senior who attended shared how she felt it separated her and her fellow classmates.

“I did not like how it divided our class up,” Blake said, “After prom is supposed to almost be like a bonding time for the senior class and I think Kalahari did the complete opposite.”

Due to the long bus ride and how late they got back, a lot of prom attendees opted out of the water park and stayed home. A lot of students who did not attend ended up going to parties, which was what the after-prom event strived to limit.

“Some people even decided not to go to Kalahari which causes a divide in groups and in our grade as a whole,” Blake said. 

Though the after-prom looked different this year in comparison to past years, the class of 2023 continued to make the best of the event.

Kenna Kemple and Jaxon Joy take a picture in the arcade at Kalahari. The pair chose to do other activity as opposed to swimming the whole night. Photo by Kenna Kemple
Seniors Kenna Kemple, Lily Frank, Ryder Evans and junior Jaxon Joy pose with their golf clubs as they play glow in the dark mini golf at Kalahari. The resort offered a variety of different activities for after prom attendees. Photo by Kenna Kemple