The night of their lives

"Oh, I'm so excited," gushed Pearson, 17, holding out her nails to be painted at Ooh-La-La, where she'd also had her hair and makeup done.

Pearson said she couldn't wait to put on her two-piece pink dress and pick her friends up in the limousine they'd rented for the night.

"We'll be driving around in our limo and screaming out of the top," she said, laughing.

Pearson is one of thousands of Manitoba teenagers graduating from high school this year.

A spokesperson for Manitoba's Department of Education and Youth said there were 18,188 students enrolled in Grade 12 this year. It is impossible to say how many of these will graduate as final marks haven't been calculated, but it's generally around 77 per cent.

That means around 14,000 Manitobans are about to have the night of their lives.

One of the major concerns about the big night is what to wear.

For Deidre Santos, 17, who graduated from Balmoral Hall last week and attended St. Paul's graduation, the final decision was a long, strapless, black satin dress. Santos said dresses at the BH graduation were generally simple and sleek.

"There's a lot more shorter dresses," she said. "It's moving away from the traditional puffy dress to more of a sleek line."

Teresa Le, the owner of dress store Brides and Proms, said favourite colours this year are either pastel pink, peach, blue and lilac or flaming red.

Graduation dresses at a store that specifically sells clothes for grads, such as Karry La Boutique, run anywhere from $249 to $698 or more.

Kristin Hooper, a seamstress at Star Vintage, said people come into the store looking for more reasonably priced items as well as something that will set them apart in a sea of dresses. Her dresses run from $60 to $150.

"We have '40s styles right up to the '80s," she said. "People come in here to look for something that's different."

Hooper said her best dresses had already been snapped up, but she showed off a '40s-style black and white dress with a massive bow and several layers.

"It's really fun if we can find a similar decade of shoes," she said.

Men have a slightly more limited range when looking at what to wear, but they still have some options.

"Most kids know it's not very often they get to dress up," said Jerome Kluner of UOMO Casuale Clothing for Men.

"They're surprised to see themselves transform from blue jeans."

Kluner said traditional tuxedos are still the favourites. He also said long jackets have been very popular this year. Vests and long ties have surpassed the traditional cummerbunds and bow ties.

He joked that most young men have no idea what to do when confronted with a tux for the first time.

"First thing, when they put it on, they don't know how to put the shirt on...." he said. "We kind of guide them in the etiquette. They sure have a ball with it."

Renting a tuxedo for the night costs between $89 and $149. Shoe rentals are $59. Little extras to make a classic tuxedo slightly more distinct, such as gloves, a top hat or a cane, cost between $5 and $30.

Another concern is how to get to the event.

Kiran Sohi, manager of City Best Limousine, said he's overrun with requests at this time of year.

"There's lots, you can't count them," he said.

This classic means of transportation will set you back $68 an hour.

Some students set their sights on a larger scale and rent a bus for the night.

Renting a Beaver Bus Lines bus that seats 47 for a trip from students' houses to the graduation dinner, with a quick stop for pictures, will cost around $300, plus a $1,000 damage deposit, said a company representative.

Daniel Felske, a student who will graduate from St. John's High School Wednesday, chose a more unconventional tactic.

He and his girlfriend will be sharing a horse and carriage from Al B. Ranch with four others for the night.

It will cost them $200 for the first hour and then $50 for each subsequent hour.

Felske is a member of his school's graduation committee and said a full year has been spent planning for the event.

"My mom's decorating the whole grad," he said, adding that she and other parents will begin beautifying the Fort Garry Place hall at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

The party will run from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. When it ends, Felske said he assumes after-parties will be held in rented hotel rooms.

Safe Grad is on the mind of many parents and teachers.

Keith Thomas, risk manager with the Manitoba Association of School Trustees, said along with the usual concerns about drinking and driving, people are being vigilant about fire safety this year after two large-scale nightclub fires in the United States over the last year.

"Halfway through the year, we said to people we wanted them to walk the exits before the big night," he said.

Several schools, including one in Winkler and another near Shoal lake, have chosen to have entirely dry graduation parties, he said, while a Niverville school is holding dual parties -- one that will have dancing and music and another that will be quieter.

Pearson said one thing grads are not concerned about is whether they go with a date. She and five of her close friends had been set to go stag when she was asked by a friend to go with him.

She said she didn't want to be mean and say no, but she held a quick conference with her friends before accepting.

"I asked the girlfriends first if it was OK," she said.

For those grad-goers not content to simply have the memories of the special night, Skin Dimensions tattoo artist Ryan Duffill said he gets a couple of requests a year for more permanent mementos.

"A lot of the time, kids'll want to get things done to remember," he said. "Tattoos are like a scrapbook."

Usually such requests are for a school logo or a basketball or volleyball etched with the year of graduation.

He said all of the students were going away to different universities and wanted something to help them remember their high school days.

Santos said she's glad to have the memories created by her graduation night, but she's also looking forward to new opportunities.

"I'm going to miss my friends. I know this'll be the last time we'll be together," she said.

"But I've been (in school) for 13 years," she said. "It's time to move on."

shannon.montgomery@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 21, 2003 $sourceSection$sourcePage