June 17-24, 2004

mixpicks

Oasis of Choice

by Rebecca Bellville

If you thought prom season was over, you were wrong. On Friday night, the Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative, along with a host of other groups, will host a prom targeted at high school-aged youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning their sexuality. The point is for teens to be comfortable enough to have a good time and bring whomever they want.

While GALAEI director Gloria Casarez calls the event an "alternative prom," she insists it's "just like any other high school prom," complete with catering, a DJ, a dance contest and a royal court. But the court is not a popularity contest — the winners are three randomly picked prom-goers. "We pick three people instead of two because we want to steer way from the idea of a couple," Casarez says.

This is the prom's ninth year. This year's youth organizers picked the theme "A Fashion Oasis: B! Ready B! Wear," based on the idea that youth can "come as they are," according to GALAEI youth program director Louis Ortiz. Organizers say some teens come dressed up and some don't, but they want to embrace each one's individuality. "Not everyone has money to dish out for a gown or a tuxedo," Ortiz says.

With that in mind, Casarez says, organizers work to keep the prom's cost low so youth can go, and don't turn away anyone who wants in the door.

A Fashion Oasis: B! Ready B! Wear, Fri., June 18, 8 p.m.-midnight, $10-$12, William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., 215-985-3382.