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BY NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

HELENA – Helena Hollow will be hosting a “Second Chance Dance” for at least two local schools starting on May 29 with Thompson High School, before then hosting another one on June 5 for Helena High School.

The event is designed to give juniors and seniors who missed their prom this year a second chance at the memorable dance after COVID-19 ended the school year more than two months early and kept schools from putting on the event.

The hope for the farm is to put on more dances for other local schools if these first two events are successful.

Amy Griffin of Helena Hollow said that the event came out of a desire to help students be able to make important memories that they might otherwise miss due to the novel coronavirus canceling so much.

“It was really tough to watch our girls be sad because their sports ended so abruptly, but then when they started canceling high school sports, graduations and prom it broke my heart,” Griffin said. “Those are memories that truly last a lifetime. I couldn’t imagine being the parent of a senior that lost all of that. That’s pretty much how we landed on offering Second Chance Dance—it’s a way to give back to the kids in our community while also hopefully picking up the pieces of our missed spring season.”

Helena Hollow will hang signs reminding guests of social distancing guidelines and will have as much hand sanitizer as possible available.

Since the event is an outdoor event it is classified differently than a typical entertainment venue, thus allowing a larger group of people to be present.

Sponsors for the event include Glitz & Gowns, who is helping with refreshments and photography, Mr. Burch Formal Wear, who is offering $50 off tuxedo rentals and Cool Shots photo booth, while Penny Miller and Stacey Franklin hope to offer valet for the students.

The event will be an outdoor space and will hope to create a memorable prom experience like the students would have had during a normal school year.

Tickets for the event are $30 and can be purchased now at Eventbrite.com/e/helenas-second-chance-dance-tickets-105409195742?ref=estw.

For more information about these events visit Helena Hollow’s Facebook page or their website at Helenahollow.com