Two Years Later, Casalino Unveils After-Prom Party

There’s no rest for the wicked.

After successfully throwing Chesapeake High School’s after-prom party, Terri Casalino has only one month to rest before she gears up for the next one, which won’t take place until her youngest son graduates in 2020.

Casalino first helped with the after-prom party when her oldest son graduated in 2016. She had fewer responsibilities then, as she was limited to handing out prizes. This year, she took on the whole evening.

“This after-prom was something I really believed in when I got involved with it two years ago, which is why I chose to take on the whole thing,” Casalino said. “I like the whole philosophy behind it, just having the kids with us and knowing where they are and knowing they’re safe and being able to provide that type of environment for them.”

The after-prom party runs from midnight until 3:00am. Students are welcomed to their high school, which was decorated for Cinco de Mayo, as prom coincided with the holiday.

“It was Cinco de Mayo theme, and we stuck with that with the food,” Casalino said. “We had 20 different restaurants donate food that night from the area.”

Casalino spent two years working on this year’s after-prom party.

“It takes a lot of money to put on the whole show, so you really have to start planning two years out to try and get the funds together to put on a party of that size and be able to meet the expectations the kids have for that night,” said Casalino, naming restaurant and bingo nights as some of the fundraisers that were planned. “It’s a little overwhelming, but it’s all good.”

Of course, Casalino couldn’t pull the whole thing off herself. She worked with other parent volunteers, who split into committees to tackle different subsets of the party.

“Anywhere between 15 to 20 of us would meet monthly for the past year and a half or so,” Casalino said. “The night of, I was absolutely overwhelmed. I had so much help that I couldn’t nearly thank everybody enough that showed up.”

Roughly 35 parents helped during the after-prom party, and school administrators and officials also attended. In addition to food, there were giveaways, a DJ and different activities to keep everyone entertained.

“I like the whole process of it. I took it on for a reason, because I like the whole philosophy behind it,” Casalino said. “It was a long night, but it was definitely worth it.”

After the class of 2018 graduates, Casalino will be in attendance at the meeting for the class of 2020’s — her youngest son’s — after-prom party.

“He’s my baby, it’s hard to say no to him,” Casalino said.