Castlecore Prom: Event Recap
A whimsical Castlecore prom brought artists and neighbors together at the Grotto to raise funds during Give Local York, uniting creativity, community, and a cause worth celebrating.
The Cause: Supporting your local Non-profit
Every spring, York County turns into a whirlwind of generosity during Give Local York, the region’s largest nonprofit giving season. For many organizations, it’s a chance to make their case, recruit consistent donors, and widen their budgets for the coming year.
For the Grotto Community Center, it was a chance to throw a party and “make their case” through joy, artistry, and unhinged magic.
Their challenge in making it happen was “How do we throw something wild enough to inspire our artist community—while staying welcoming to the general public?
Enter The Grotto Prom: Castlecore Edition, its dreamy, romantic, TikTok-era nostalgia, gave us the perfect portal.
The Vision: Whimsy Meets Purpose
We wanted this prom to feel slightly more elevated than your traditional highschool theme and thus leaned more into an immersive, intentional, and transportive installation.
To accomplish this while holding enough margin to make the fundraiser a success, we had to call on some neighbors. ;)
By partnering with DreamWrights, our local community center for the arts, we slashed an otherwise hefty aesthetic rental cost. This was not the first time they have helped us foster a vision well, and from their props closet we sourced a plethora of things including
Ornate pillars
Hanging textiles
Faux stained glass
Gilded sconces
And our favorite last minute decision: 75 faux birds, suspended in flight beneath cascading fabrics
The result was a castle in the clouds, a unrecognizable makeover to the Grotto’s main coworking floor.
The People: Community in Costume
Prom-goers came dressed to impress knowing that outside of a king and queen crowning there were an assortment of other titles to win via “people’s choice” including best dressed.
Some leaned into high fantasy, others more along the lines of modern royalty, magical academia, or thrifted velvet capes.
I love throwing events that gives people a reason to DRESS UP.* Not only for the opportunity to express themselves, but a reason to preen, to take photos, and lingerrrrr at the event much longer than you would have if it was a simple dress code.
*Dress code is my #1 hack for event attendance boost!
The Energy: Unmatched
Did you know people still enjoy Limbo? Especially when prizes are attached? Yeah I was surprised too…
From spicy salsa spins to delightfully cheesy conga lines, the dance floor stayed alive with booty bumps, spontaneous dance-offs, and guests clearly vying for the “best moves” trophy.
Between the balloon drop, the hype from our MC, the custom cocktails, and crowning our king and queen by popular vote— the energy could not be brought down and our DJ (the best DJ everrrrrr) kindly obliged us an extra hour of unhinged, laughter filled, contagious dancing.
Why It Worked
This prom was more than a party. It was a proof of concept.
Fundraising doesn’t have to feel transactional.
Community engagement can be joyful, theatrical, and deeply meaningful.
Above all, it revealed what I and many others at the Grotto banked on to make this thing work… An artist community will show up, and show off, for a good cause when the experience honors their imagination.
The Prom success was not limited to dollars raised (though it exceeded our goal!), it proved a point in the process that keeps these collaborative events rolling in:
People want to participate. They just need an invitation worth accepting.
As creative director, this was a dream to produce. Not because everything was perfect but because everyone came together. It was worth it to them, and it felt like everyone was shining at their best. Secretly hope this becomes a Grotto tradition to ring in Give Local every year. <3
