After four years without a Winter Formal at Westview, Sophomore Class Presidents Lana Pham-Nguyen (10) and Cayden Pasion (10) assumed the responsibility of planning one for this year. Because no current students have experienced a Westview Winter Formal, Pham-Nguyen and Pasion are starting fresh. 

Westview has a long history of annual Winter dances, beginning in 2008, though these dances have alternated between being formal and informal throughout the years. Due to COVID-19, there haven’t been winter dances for a while. Early this school year, a campus-wide vote determined that Westview would once again be having an off-campus, formal dance as opposed to an informal one.

Over the years, formals have outnumbered informals, with the informal first being introduced in 2010. That year’s sophomore class presidents aimed to appeal to a wider audience. They hoped cheaper ticket prices and cost-effective attire would draw in more students. 

The second informal, in 2011, was ultimately canceled due to low ticket sales. However, the informals of 2012, 2015, and 2018 all ran smoothly. 

Though formals are more typical for Westview, COVID-19’s interruption has made the planning of them more difficult. Pham-Nguyen and Pasion are excited to embrace the opportunity to learn to plan this dance on their own.

“Since it has been so long since a Winter Formal has been planned, and our adviser is rather new, the planning is all just based on our personal past experience,” Pham-Nguyen said.

The duo said that adviser DJ Sosnowski helped them contact potential venues. They’ve also valued input from fellow sophomore class members. 

Though Pham-Nguyen and Pasion have been able to get guidance, they’ve been presented with the unique challenge of not being able to reference past Winter Formals and organizers as much. 

“Originally when we were looking for a location, we looked at our past formals and informals to see what to avoid or what kind to look at,” Pasion said. 

Finding a venue was the first step that the pair took, which they started in the summer in order to get ahead. It proved difficult due to lingering COVID-19 precautions. Eventually, they found a suitable place and were able to tour it. 

According to Pham-Nguyen and Pasion, the venue is one of the main factors that differentiates a formal and an informal. 

“Formal is a fancier, more elegant type of dance while informals are activity-based,” Pasion said. 

Formals require food and a theme, making them overall more difficult to organize. 

Adding on to all of the big decisions (such as the vendor), there were a plethora of little details that had to be worked out. For example, although an outside vendor helps with the overall setup of decorations, the pair had to decide on designs and finer elements that fit within the theme.

They were also tasked with creating their own publicity, such as ASB posts and fliers. They did so by creating a specific color palette and using specific illustrations to ensure the graphics would all be cohesive. 

“Finding the theme and seeing the publicity and all the decorations come together has definitely been a highlight,” Pham-Ngyuen said. 

Because of the extra components, formals tend to be much more expensive, reflected by the ticket prices. In addition to ticket sales, the finances to put on the dances come from dances of the past. 

Due to inflation, this year is overall more expensive, but the planners have aimed to stay within previous price ranges and make a profit for the future, while keeping ticket prices as low as possible. 

Despite all of these challenges, Pasion and Pham-Ngyuen have enjoyed the process. 

“It’s more difficult than we thought in terms of contacting different vendors and managing the different parts of decorating, but it has been a great experience and felt easier at times due to our excitement,” Pasion said. 

On Jan. 9, ASB released its first publicity on their official Instagram. It reveals that the location is Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier, and that it will be hosted on Feb. 11. Additional information is that it will be from 7-10 p.m. with the recommended dress code of a suit and tie or long dress. 

The theme has yet to be revealed, but it will be during today’s Winter Rally. Ticket sales start the same day at $55, though the prices increase as the event grows closer.