Bluffton caterer holds ‘mini-proms’ for Beaufort County seniors whose dances were canceled
Normally, Lea Fotia McCarthy’s event space would be packed with weddings in the spring.
McCarthy, owner of Bluffton’s Downtown Catering Company, Venue 1223 and Downtown Deli, has been restricting her events for several months in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The weddings that haven’t been canceled have become “micro-weddings,” with reduced event times and groups of 50 or less occupying a space that has the capacity for 250 as brides “drastically reduce the size” of their planned dates, she said.
But on Saturday, there was something even more unexpected in the Venue 1223 space: a prom.
“I have a 16 year old right now whose girlfriend is a senior, and they were talking about missing out on prom,” McCarthy said. “She had a dress, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I have this space.’ We’re creating this for weddings; why don’t we try to create the same thing for prom?”
On May 23, 22 students from three high schools — May River, Hilton Head Christian Academy and Bluffton High — came together for two hours “to have some sense of a normal life again,” she said.
A rental company donated a dance floor, and a photographer and DJ both offered services at a reduced rate.
“I got so many incredible messages from parents with them saying it not only created a memory of going to prom for their students, but it created that memory for them, too,” McCarthy said. “It was really, really well received, and it was really heart-warming to be able to offer something.”
That recent prom isn’t McCarthy’s only event for high school students whose spring semester has been disrupted by coronavirus.
She’s also hosting graduation parties and a secondr prom this Saturday for a Hilton Head Island school she declined to name.
“The kids and the parents are worried,” she said. “They don’t want the school’s name because it’s not supported by the school, and they don’t want the kids to get in trouble for organizing this.”
The school’s name doesn’t appear on tickets, contracts or even the name of the event, she said. Instead, Venue 1223 created an online ticket for students to share with their friends and capped the number that could be sold.
McCarthy said the space is “up and dedicated and ready to go” for more school events for the next three weeks, and that she’s following S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control guidelines to host events.
“We don’t have anything that’s self-serve, even beverages,” she said. “We hand everything to the person. There’s no cross-utilization of any utensils or drink cups, anything.
“We’re really creating space where we hope people feel they can come and feel safe.”