Party like it's whatever year you graduated high school

Dust off that powder-blue tux. Get out the hairspray. It's prom night.

It started when Ayesha Reynolds and Kelly Brown of Homespun Parties wanted to do something for victims of the April tornadoes.

"You drive less than half a mile down, and people are still rebuilding," said Reynolds, who lives in Apison. "It looks like a total war zone."

She said she wasn't personally affected by the tornadoes but was touched by the survivors' plights. She and Brown tried to help where they could but wanted to do more.

IF YOU GOWhat: Second Chance Prom (ages 21 and up).When: 9 p.m.-midnight tonight.Where: Warehouse Row, 1110 Market St.Admission: $15.Website: www.brownpapertickets.com.

"There are still people who are really trying to get back on their feet. We haven't forgotten about them."

So they decided to throw a fundraiser. But rather than just collecting donations or resorting to a typical gala, they wanted to find a fun, unusual way to bring the community together.

Thus, Second Chance Prom.

"It's going to be the prom, really cheesed up for adults," Reynolds said. All proceeds from the $15 tickets will go to tornado relief programs at United Way of Greater Chattanooga.

The 21-and-over event will include a spiked punch fountain, a photo booth and hits from the '80s until now. A prom king and queen, the most creatively dressed pair, will be crowned.

"It's just going to be a big dance party. It'll be like the prom again, without all the rules," said Reynolds, who is wearing a blue sequined "crazy and sparkly" dress from the '70s or '80s gifted to her by her mother-in-law.

Aside from raising money for tornado relief, Reynolds and Brown had personal reasons for wanting to throw a prom as well. As alumnae of a Seventh-day Adventist school, they attended a graduation banquet in lieu of a prom senior year of high school.

So, Reynolds said, they wanted the experience.

"Some people have crazy-fun prom memories, some people have awful ones they want to redo," she said, "but we really don't have a prom memory. It's our very first prom."

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