On Monday March 19, over 200 students attended HBA’s annual junior-senior banquet at the Hilton Prince Kuhio Hotel in Waikiki.
After months of promposals in school and planning by the junior banquet committee, the event, themed “A Red Carpet Affair,” took place on the first Monday of Spring Break.
At HBA, the junior class traditionally plans the banquet every year. According to junior class president Jaryd Sugihara, who describes the class of 2014 as “our biggest rivals and our greatest motivators”, the banquet committee set out with a goal to honor the seniors through the event. The committee consisted of about 25 juniors and with the help of their advisers, spent about five months planning the banquet. Adviser Katherine Pang said, “More and more creative ideas really pushed the Old Hollywood theme forward. The juniors tried really hard to honor the seniors in special ways.”
[one_third]“My favorite part of prom was walking down the red carpet, posing with my date like we were celebrities at the Oscars.”
Senior Bryn Yasui
[/one_third]A red carpet was rolled out to welcome the students like celebrities, with several advisers acting as paparazzi near the entrance. Senior Bryn Yasui said, “My favorite part of prom was walking down the red carpet, posing with my date like we were celebrities at the Oscars.” There was also a photo booth open for anyone to dress up and pose in, which proved to be popular feature of the night. Inside the ballroom, Hollywood-themed centerpieces and street names topped each table with a red, white, and black color theme. Old pictures of both juniors and seniors were posted on the walls, available for anyone to take home. Senior Walden Butay said, “Prom had a more upbeat atmosphere [than last year.] I’m a fan of Hollywood, so I found the decor and the theme very amusing.”
Aside from the photo booth and dancing, the banquet also had games and entertainment. To start off the evening, junior Danielle Woo announced a dance-off to determine which tables would get to the buffet line first. Each table sent a representative to dance with a partner to the song “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé. The winners, as decided by junior hosts, were seniors Chase Perry and Joey Brown. Senior Ryan Chang said, “Prom was really fun because of the engaging dance off. [It was] my favorite part.”
After dinner, a slideshow dedicated to the class of 2014 played, featuring old pictures of the seniors that elicited laughs and cheers from the audience. Butay said, “I found the slideshow to be pretty hilarious, being able to see how much we’ve all grown over the years.”
This year, the HOSS elections—where seniors get to nominate their classmates for categories such as “Most likely to work at HBA” or “Nicest hair”—were incorporated into the banquet. HOSS winners were announced and presented with mini Oscar-like trophies, accompanied by cheers and congratulations from their classmates. Seniors Yasui and Kimo Tago were named the Cutest Couple, Chang won the Most Changed award, and Tara Kagimoto was voted Most Likely To Be Late to Graduation. Pang said, “I really liked the HOSS award ceremony because it was a fun program idea rather than just games.”
At the end of the night, seniors Chang and Joslyn Hamada were crowned King and Queen while juniors Andrew Mettias and Asia Sheehab were named Prince and Princess. Sheehab said, “The best part of winning was the love that it filled me with, especially since I have only been at HBA for a year. My classmates have really shown me that I am a part of the class of 2015.” Chang added, “The best part of winning was having to dance before everyone.”
The banquet wrapped up at 9:30p.m., with the DJ playing one additional song at the request of many students. Yasui said, “If there was anything I could change about prom, it would definitely be for it to last longer. I wish the party went on all night.” Senior Daniel Kimoto said, “I’d like to thank the class of 2015 for doing an outstanding job putting together a memorable last prom for the seniors. You all surpassed my expectations and earned my utmost gratitude and respect.”
Photographs by Eunice Sim
