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Rita Magana

Formal court consists of five female and five male contestants. Formal king was Barak Ross, 12, (middle back) and formal queen was Valeria Corral, 12 (middle front).

This year, Downey High’s Winter Formal theme was once upon a time. On Saturday night, Jan. 27, Downey students got dressed up and went to Knotts Berry Farm to take place in the annual event.While attending Winter Formal, one will question if the dress/suit they are wearing cost the same as everyone else’s.

While present at the school dance, Victor Villa, 11, speaks on how much he spent on the dance and his opinion on the matter.

“I only actually spent about $120 on everything; I already had a tux,” Villa stated. “ I did have to buy a new shirt and tie to match my girlfriend.”

While at Knotts, all attending Vikes were able to ride all park rides from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m., until the park closed for the public and opened rides exclusively for Downey students. For example, Supreme Scream, Silver Bullet, Cool Coaster, are rides that were opened, while the Log Ride and Excelerator were closed due to repairs.

Winter Formal Queen, Valeria Corral, 12, talks about how much she spent on this year’s Winter Formal.

“My boyfriend bought my ticket and I spent maybe a little over a hundred on everything, most was on my dress and the rest was on new jewelry,” Corral stated. “My hair and makeup I did myself and I had my shoes already.”

Downey students spend days and weeks preparing for the event, boys renting their tux days in advance and girls having their dresses for weeks ahead.

Winter Formal King nominee, Anthony Montes, 12, states his own personal experience on the amount he spent at the dance.

“I spent about a hundred on my tux, and shoes,” Montes said. “I had to rent my tux, and buy new shoes; I had to wear different stuff from homecoming because I had to look good.”

Formal dresses can cost anywhere from $55-$200. Tux rentals can be from $60-$120. Shoes and jewelry for girls can be $15-$50, and boys shoes can be anywhere from $60-$140. Ticket prices for formal range from $65 the first week with Asb sticker $70, without the final day of sale at $105 per person.