By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
PORTAGE—For the second straight weekend, the Air Zoo in Portage played host to hundreds of local high school students.
One week after Plainwell High School held its prom at the Air Zoo, Otsego High School did the same on Saturday, May 14.
Nearly 300 students attended the prom, making it one of OHS’s best-attended in several years, according to OHS teacher/junior class advisor Sara Badiner.
“The kids enjoyed dancing, refreshments and a variety of rides that were offered at the Air Zoo,” she said.
Like schools throughout the state—and nation—OHS was able to hold a “normal” prom for the first time since 2019 due to COVID pandemic.
The Air Zoo has served as host for Otsego’s prom on multiple occasions in the past decade.
“It is, by far, my favorite location,” Badiner said. “It has plenty of space, so the kids don’t complain about getting too hot, and the dance floor is always full without being uncomfortably full.
“The kids love the location because there are things to do in addition to dancing.”
Those things include viewing the many planes on display or enjoying one of the rides, which include a 3D motion simulator.
“Many of the kids have never been to the air zoo before, so I love to watch the awe and delight on their faces when they walk through the cloud passageway and see all those planes for the first time,” Badiner said.
“Additionally, having your dance floor underneath the wing of a Blackbird jet is pretty amazing. Most of the kids don’t even realize that they are dancing next to a jet that could fly them from where they are standing to Chicago in slightly less than three minutes.”
