Abigail Cushman, Editor-in-Chief
@abigailccourant
On Friday, March 31, members of the Class of 2023 will take the stage for the third annual Ram Jam, a music fashion show dedicated to fundraising for the Senior Post-Prom party. For the event, seniors are invited to walk in a fashion show, create and perform skits, play music, and more. “The acts and modeling end up being really fun, and the seniors all support each other,” said Ram Jam co-chair Jamie Smith, who also co-chaired the very first Ram Jam back in 2019.
For the skits, students can prepare whatever they would like, including lip syncing, a made-up skit, a dance, or a singing performance. “When I chaired this a couple years ago, the basketball team did a number, I think they had basketballs in their hands, and it was a hit. People went crazy,” Ms. Smith said. While the number of performances is limited, the fashion show is available to everyone.
This year, some girls signed up to model dresses from Winged Monkey, a fashion boutique in Westport, whereas others will rock the runway in their own dresses. On January 25, the forty slots dedicated to Winged Monkey dresses sold out in seven minutes. The boys’ signup also received quick response. Attendees can expect to see the boys modeling tuxedos from Camillo’s in Norwalk.
The forty girls will visit Winged Monkey, find a dress, reserve it, and on the night of Ram Jam they will do their own hair and makeup. For years, the equivalent for Ram Jam was solely a senior fashion show. “A lot of people were saying that it was quite boring. So that’s where Ram Jam came up. We can still do the fashion show piece, but make it more exciting with a band and a variety show,” Ms. Smith said.
Ram Jam is a place where students can be themselves with no fear of judgment. “People kind of get this confidence. It’s a platform where you can do anything—be yourself, be authentic, and bust out of your stereotype,” said Ram Jam co-chair Monica Stallings. “It’s good, clean fun. It’s dressing up, it’s being with your friends, and it’s one night of rehearsal.” Usually, Ram Jam raises around $12,000 for the Senior Post-Prom party.
In terms of audience, Ram Jam attracts a variety of NCPS community members. “It’s not only senior parents and siblings. We really try to get a lot of the high school kids to come and support. Elementary kids have fun because it’s light and it’s not very long,” Ms. Stallings said. The event tends to last around an hour and ten minutes. There is no intermission, no assigned seating, and viewers can go in and out to get snacks.
Last year, senior Kate Hunter (class of 2022) went to Ram Jam to watch some of her friends and classmates have fun on stage. “One thing I really liked about watching Ram Jam was seeing how the event brought people in our grade closer together. I think it was a really cool way to end our senior year because boys and girls were matched on stage with people they didn’t necessarily know very well,” she said.
Kate also attended the Senior Post-Prom party funded by Ram Jam, and she had a lot of fun. “I thought the parents did a really good job organizing it. They had laser tag, a hypnotist, food, and it was just a really fun experience,” Kate said. The event allowed students such as herself to spend time with their dates and all of their closest friends. “I think I left around three in the morning, then we all went to the sunrise after that.”
Similarly, senior Maeson Wagner (class of 2022) thought the Senior Post-Prom party was fun because her entire grade and their dates were there. “It was kind of like a last hurrah before we all went to our internships and then college. I particularly enjoyed the hypnotist room!” she said. Maeson had also decided to participate as a model in Ram Jam because she wanted to be involved in the fundraising process for post-prom.
While Maeson was a little overwhelmed trying on and choosing a Winged Monkey dress, being with all of her friends made the process super fun. “The staff at Winged Monkey was great and I even ended up getting my actual prom dress from there,” she said. Maeson also liked that she got to model a dress that she wouldn’t ordinarily wear. “It was fun to try something new. I also liked choreographing the little dance we do as we walk down the runway.”
As Ram Jam 2023 approaches, members of the Class of 2023 are looking forward to the event, including senior Ellerie Tauber. She decided to sign up to model in Ram Jam when she saw videos of people participating in the event last year. “It looked like a really fun experience. I look forward to getting ready with my friends and having fun being a model!” she said.
Ellerie is one of the lucky forty to be wearing a dress from Winged Monkey, and will be sharing the runway with senior Ryan Calyanis. “I am definitely looking forward to seeing all the different dresses and trying them on,” she said. “I’m also excited to make fun new memories with my friends and classmates and to enjoy our final few moments together before we graduate.”
Ram Jam and Post-Prom are both opportunities for graduating seniors to spend extra time with friends and classmates before parting ways for college. “Those are two events that our grade did together and I think they’re both really unique to New Canaan, Post-Prom especially,” Kate said. “There were really good raffle prizes. I think the biggest prize was a TV.” And if the TV is any indication, attendance at Ram Jam is essential to the unique experience that is Senior Post-Prom.
