Tickets on sale for 26th Albany senior citizens prom

ALBANY – Around 200 Albany and area senior citizens will get the red carpet treatment during a Hollywood-themed senior prom that will allow participants to put on their finest and dance the night away.

“A Night on the Hollywood Red Carpet” will be the theme of the 26th edition of the annual dance tailored for dancing enthusiasts ages 50s through their 90s. The Senior Citizen Prom is scheduled for June 26 at the Albany Civic Center.

Tickets are on sale for $30 and are available at the Albany Recreation & Parks Department’s 1301 N. Monroe St. office or by visiting recdesk.arpd.com.

“I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to this,” ARPD Supervisor Tee Taylor said. “It will be a good time. It’s just like Hollywood. Once you come on the red carpet, we will acknowledge you and we will have the lights. We’re going to do a Hollywood red carpet and celebrate 26 years.”

Tickets usually sell out fast, so individuals who want to be a part of the celebration are encouraged to act quickly. 

Joining the revelers will be a number of groups whose men are expected to serve as dance partners for ladies who come alone. These include a motorcycle club, Men on a Mission, Al Rakim Temple No. 142, Albany and Dougherty County employees and Marines from Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany.

“There are so many that come out and help us with this,” Taylor said. “We also do a lot of line dancing. So we kind of mix it up.”

Having hosted the dance for many years, Taylor said that she is honored to have been a part of the event that has been a hit for nearly three decades.

“It’s great because we get to have fun, meet new friends, dance and, most of all, they are dancing with their age group,” she said. “They get to hear the oldies. Some of them go back to the ‘50s. You have people who are 86, even people who are 92.”

When Taylor says that people can make new friends, she is not kidding.

“I had a young lady who ended up getting married, and they said they met at the prom,” she said. “This is just a way of giving back to our seniors, just to have fun and dance the night away. We want to encourage them to come out, dress up and have a good time.”