Night with the Stars Prom to return to Bradenton for those with disabilities

Bradenton’s Eddie Balen never went to his high school prom. 

Instead, he went to a luncheon that served as an alternative prom. 

But for the past seven years, Balen has been able to enjoy a prom experience through Night with the Stars Prom, a nonprofit that hosts a prom for individuals who are 16 years old and older and have disabilities. 

“We’re mostly just friends, but at the prom, we’re family,” said Balen, who is an ambassador for Night with the Stars Prom. 

On April 14, Balen and more than 300 others with disabilities and their caregivers will strut the red carpet as they make their way into Woodland Community Church. After checking in, each guest will receive a crown or tiara fit for a king or queen. 

This year’s theme is “Night with Beast and His Beauty,” a take on Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Guests will get to meet Beast, Mrs. Potts, Chip and potentially other characters from the Disney classic. 

Mary Anne McDevitt, the president of Night with the Stars Prom, is thrilled the nonprofit is able to host a prom once again after not being able to do so for the past three years due to the pandemic.

Going three years without hosting a prom has led the nonprofit to having trouble finding volunteers. 

“A lot of our high school kids have graduated,” McDevitt said. “We lost all of that momentum because they’re all gone now, so we’re starting over again.”

McDevitt said the volunteers loved being at the prom because they would dance and spend time with the individuals with disabilities. In the past, she would send out a letter to past volunteers to see who was interested in participating again, and she said she would have at least 30 people signed up within 15 minutes. 

“A lot of the kids at the end of the prom would come up to me and tell me it was the best prom they’ve been to and it was even better than their own,” McDevitt said. 

For some volunteers, McDevitt said the prom has inspired them to go into a career serving individuals with disabilities. 

“When they tell me that, my heart just bursts and I want to cry because they found their calling just by coming to the prom,” she said. 

Night with the Stars Prom is an event guests look forward to every year. 

Guests have the opportunity to go to the nonprofit’s storage facility to select and try on a dress or tuxedo so they can look their finest on their big night. The girls also can select accessories to go with their dresses. A local tailor provides alterations. 

Eddie Balen’s father, Edward Balen, said attending the prom is like attending the Academy Awards. 

“When you see the expressions on their faces as they walk through the doors to the sanctuary, they’re enlightened,” Edward Balen said. “It’s sheer joy for them. The volunteers are instructed to make a fuss over them, and they do. They dance with them, make them laugh and escort them around. It gives you a chill down your spine when you see so much joy in one place.”

McDevitt and her core group of volunteers, who have been working with her since her days serving on the Parent-Teacher Organization at Carlos E. Haile Middle School, take over Woodland Community Church Thursday evening to start decorating and preparing the church for the prom. 

Between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the day of the prom, McDevitt and the volunteers finish with the final touches before getting ready themselves.

McDevitt said she usually starts seeing guests lining up to start checking in 30 minutes before the prom begins at 6:30 p.m..

After 24 hours of stress preparing for the prom, McDevitt said it all melts away as soon as they see the guests and the look of excitement on their faces. 

“We’ll open the doors and it’ll be like a swarm of bees just coming in,” she said. 

Once inside, Eddie Balen said the prom is “wall-to-wall smiles and fun with head-banging music.”

Edward Balen said the Night with the Star Prom is a special event that gives people who weren’t able to go to their high school proms an opportunity to have that high school experience. It’s a night for them to dress up, feel special and hit the dance floor.