RELIVING THE PROM.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

Not everyone wants to relive his or her high school prom, but organizers of a prom for adults want to give people a chance to make new prom memories - without teenage anxiety over dates, hair or pressure to make out with someone icky. And it's doubtful many of these guests will have had to save baby-sitting money for months to buy the perfect dress.

"We're trying to make it as authentically high school as we can while still making it classy," organizer Sarah Merwin said. "It's a fun way to relive something you may or may not have gotten to do when you were younger."

Three young couples decided perhaps all that magic and romance of prom is wasted on teenagers. So they are literally rolling out the red carpet Saturday night: They have invited almost 300 of their closest friends to partake in prom "part deux," as one organizer put it, at the South Eugene High School cafeteria.

They sent out elegant, formal invitations to friends, co-workers and relatives, which initially baffled many recipients, organizer Tristan Brandow said.

"People didn't really get the extent to which we were doing a true prom," she said. "People thought it was going to be a lame house party with ghetto '80s prom dresses."

Instead, it's a wear-what-you-want, adults-of-all-ages affair that's open to anyone who's on board with the spirit of the event and wants to pay the $45 per couple ticket price.

"It's going to be pretty cool," said Jason Gallic, 29, "prom committee" member. "It's going to be much better than a real prom."

Oh, but it is a real prom, complete with a 17-foot Eiffel Tower replica ordered from a prom catalog, DJ, photos, door prizes and teenage chaperones and bouncers. The theme is `An American in Paris.'

"It's not so much making fun of prom - we just have all the tried and true prom things," Brandow, 27, said. "It's just kind of supersized in a way. It's more adult geared."

While no one will be kicked out of school and have to miss advanced placement exams for showing up to the prom a little tipsy, the event isn't meant to be about drinking. Plus, South's rules do not allow for a drinking event. An espresso bar will be on hand, though.

The husbands in the group came up with the idea originally. They had recently pulled off a Valentine's Day surprise with 17 other husbands to give their wives a romantic night at Silvan Ridge/Hinman Vineyards, west of Eugene. Gallic said the guys wanted to do another special event - a dance of some sort - which snowballed into doing a full-blown prom.

Brandow, a South graduate, was shocked to see how nice the cafeteria had become after an extensive remodel. Still, she didn't get any special alumni discounts for renting the place and all of the money for putting the event on is coming straight out of the organizers' pockets.

So far it looks like they have a good chance of breaking even, Brandow said.

Merwin, 31, equated planning this event to planning a wedding, in that the lucky couple doesn't get to enjoy their wedding as guests, but it certainly has its rewards.

"Our heart behind the whole thing all along has been to serve our friends and serve our community," she said. "I think as grown-ups it's easy to forget to do big things like this - just to live. You work and you have your kids and your job. I think what we're trying to do is put some life back into life. We want to be able to provide a fun night to whoever could use it. (Life) just becomes a little mundane, so I think we want to spice it up a bit."

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

The event is open to adults

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: $45 per couple

Where: South Eugene High School cafeteria,

400 E. 19th Ave.

CAPTION(S):

Tristan Brandow, 27, Sarah Merwin, 31, and Autumn Gallic, 28, plan to have their prom makeup done at the Face It! cosmetic shop.