In a Schoology blast sent Wednesday afternoon, ASB adviser Anna Kirsh announced that this January’s Winter Formal at the Mountain Winery will be the last “for the foreseeable future,” reminding students of the chance to attend before the tradition ends.
The cancellation was due to low ticket sales and a broader district-wide shift away from winter formals. Homestead, Monta Vista and Fremont High Schools already made the decision to cancel their dance this year, with Fremont experiencing significant financial losses and Homestead struggling to meet attendance targets last year. The reasons behind declining attendance aren’t entirely clear, though factors may include the financial burden of multiple formal events, academic and extracurricular demands during winter months or simply changing student preferences about how they want to spend their time and money.
In the wake of multiple schools abandoning their winter formals, district administration discussed the possibility of the Inter-District Council moving an interdistrict dance to the time slot. This idea is completely separate from Lynbrook’s decision to discontinue its own dance.
For Lynbrook, the decision reflects significant financial pressures from the event. In order to prevent losses, ASB Social needed to sell around 250 tickets. But by the end of the original ticket sales window, the number sold remained below the break-even point. Tickets remain available online until end-of-day Friday and can be purchased at the student store or in Ms. Lawrence’s office.
“Winter Formal has always been about coming together — music, memories, laughter, and celebrating the community we’ve built,” Kirsh wrote in the announcement. “This year, we invite you to be part of that tradition one more time and help make it a night to remember.”
This year’s dance, themed “Sunset in Sicily, “ plans to showcase new ideas, including faux wine tastings at the outside venue. ASB launched an elaborate Bachelorette-inspired promotional campaign to generate attention.
“With this year’s Winter Formal being the last for a while, ASB Social is committed to making it the best one yet,” ASB Social commissioner Adam Salme said. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work into planning something we think the student body would enjoy and hope that students use the last day of sales to take advantage of this opportunity instead of missing out on such a memorable event.”
Even after announcing the dance’s potential end, ticket sales have barely improved. As of Thursday afternoon, only about 160 tickets were sold after days of extended sales. Assistant Principal Tara Grande emphasized that the announcement was not an effort to boost sales.
“The announcement wasn’t a publicity stunt,” Grande said. “We just wanted people to know, if it matters to them, that this will not be an option next year. We didn’t want to be sneaky about it, but we also aren’t trying to say, ‘Oh, you better buy your ticket or we’re not going to have it next year.’ That’s not the direction.”
