Youth center throws "Chocolate Prom"

With live music, DJ Doctor FeelGood, a photo booth and plenty of sweet snacks, Rhino’s Youth Center’s Chocolate Prom mimicked a high school dance Friday night.

The Chocolate Prom, in its fifth year at Rhino’s, was a major fundraiser for the all-ages center, while also bringing together children and adults of all ages from across Monroe County.

Rhino’s Assistant Director David Britton said he thinks the event is so successful because of its inclusiveness.  

“It’s a great event because we get people who go to school at IU, and we get older people with their families and we get teenagers,” Britton said. “It’s a very community event. People from the University come out and people who just live here come out.”

Vanessa Cantrell, who attended the Chocolate Prom with her daughter, said she began bringing her daughter to the event because Rhino’s holds history for the family.

Cantrell used to go to shows at the venue when she was younger.

“I’ve been to other events over the years,” Cantrell said. “I’ve been coming here since I was 18, so around 18 years, which is part of the reason that I brought (my daughter) here. It’s part of the reason that I stayed.”

In addition to DJ Doctor FeelGood’s performance, Rhino’s, which holds all-ages music shows regularly throughout the year, brought in live acts to perform at the Chocolate Prom.

Busman’s Holiday, Taylor Campi and Friends and Lost Catfish also helped children and adults dance all night.

Cantrell’s daughter Clara Hawkins attended the Chocolate Prom with friends from the Project School, a local private school, and said the Chocolate Prom is another way for her and her classmates to get together after school and have fun.

“A lot of our friends just show up,” Hawkins said. “It’s like we can have a big dance party together.”

With its close proximity to Rhino’s, Hawkins said The Project School utilizes the center frequently.

“We have our talent show here every year,” she said. “I know some (students)have been in the talent show for four years.”

Though Grace MacNeil’s family had never been to the Chocolate Prom before this year, she and her children said they went to the event because they had been fans of Rhino’s and its events in the past.  

“I have three kids — 17, 12 and 10 — and they can all come and have a good time,” MacNeil said. “I’ve come here for events. I’ve been here for bands, and I was in a dance troupe. We performed here a couple of times.”

Supporting the arts, like MacNeil’s dance troupe, Hawkins’ talent show and the live music at the Chocolate Prom, is the aim of Rhino’s, Britton said. He said he believes the location of the center in a college town helps facilitate that goal.

“Bloomington is a big arts community in general,” Britton said. “I think it wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t have the university. So the university helps to kind of create a community that supports the arts, and that in turn helps something like the Rhino to exist.”

Cantrell said she agrees with Britton and thinks the Rhino fills a unique niche in Bloomington and Monroe County.

“There is no other venue like the Rhino,” Cantrell said. “It is the gem in our community.
It’s unlike any place even in other communities because they support a vibrant music community and they have a really vibrant community outreach program with their after school programs.”

Events like the Chocolate Prom, as well as other music and community outreach events at the Rhino, make it an invaluable part of the culture of Bloomington, MacNeil and Cantrell said.

“I think it’s great for kids of all ages to have a chance to socialize and have fun with their friends in a safe space,” MacNeil said. “The kids see all the college students all the time out and about and getting together with their friends, and it’s nice for them to kind of feel like a part of the culture of the town.”

Cantrell said she agrees, and adds the inclusiveness of the Chocolate Prom and other events at the Rhino make it special for her and her kids.

“They speak to a demographic that isn’t always spoken to by the normal venue,” Cantrell said. “The kids who come here are not the kids who play basketball or get into cheerleading. This is a place where they can fit in, this is a place where they can be safe, have fun, and they can explore their boundaries in a safe and healthy manner.”