
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Prom season is one of the most joyous times of the year for Philadelphia high schoolers. Each spring, families are known for going all out to put together extravagant prom send-offs for their kids and turn dreams into reality.
Dedicated moms like Angelia Ayres and Treva Harris have put several hundreds — or thousands — of dollars and countless hours into planning the perfect night for their children.
‘You put into it what you want to get out’
Angelia, herself, is discreet when it comes to talking about the price tag.
“It costs, you know, not a whole lot,” she said. “But, you know, you put into it what you want to get out.”

She says her daughter Aniyah is a good kid.
“She's a good student, and she has a good heart. She does a lot for other people and the community, and she gives so much to others that it only seemed right that I would give it to her,” Angelia said.
“So, you know, people can say what they want.”
Social media is abuzz this time of year with conversations about so-called “send-off culture.” Some people admire the grand productions. Others disapprove of the expense and the extravagance.
Her daughter’s junior prom send-off included food, drinks, dessert trays, music, a red carpet with a step-and-repeat backdrop, and a luxury ride — and a professional photographer to capture it all.
Aniyah said her send-off will be an important memory for her later in life, but its significance goes beyond its grandiosity.

“Honestly, for a lot of us teenagers, that one prom night is a memory that's gonna last forever. And I feel as though memories are a big thing in our heads and our families …. You have that one moment to remember for the rest of your life. And every time I think about it, I'm always going to have a smile on my face. Every time I talk about it. Every time I get to tell people how much my mom did for me,” Aniyah said.
“It’s not just prom night. It's so much more than that. It's about the love, the time that gets put into all of it. Everybody coming together for one day — not even just for me, but to see everybody else, too. I loved it and I will do it all over again.”
Aniyah says the perfect day was missing just one thing: her father, who died when she was younger.

“I made a post on Instagram of a picture of me at my dad's cemetery. And it was a bittersweet moment just realizing that my dad really isn't here to see me going to my first prom. But when I finally got the picture in my hand, I really did get very emotional,” Aniyah said.
“But of course, my best friend, my sister, she ran up to me, she said, ‘You can’t cry. Your makeup, your makeup.’”
‘I had a Lamborghini out there’
A West Philly woman and her son made national waves after their event went viral.
A giant mural-style banner with Zahir Harris’ picture and the words “PROM 2023, THE SEND OFF, ZAHIR’S EDITION” was unfurled against the side of a row home in West Philly.


“I didn't even want to go to my prom. I just wanted to stay at my send-off. I had so much fun — like, everybody was enjoying themselves. And there were people I hadn’t seen in years,” Harris said.
There was also confetti, a DJ, a step-and-repeat, and a cascade of hundreds of balloons — orange, silver and black — in the front of the home.
“I had a Bentley out there. I had a Lamborghini out there,” he said.



The send-off went viral on social media, amassing millions of views and comments — a pleasant surprise for both the teen and his mom, Treva Harris. She said the event planner was left with just nine days to execute the lavish affair after a last-minute mishap.
“I said, I'm gonna give my son a good day. We're gonna have a great time. I'm gonna do something that he's never gonna forget. And that's all I kept telling her,” Treva said. “I'm like: I just want something that he's never going to forget.”
She said there was no alternative.
“I couldn't just send him off in a suit and just some balloons and a cookout and say, ‘Go off to prom!’ because it's just expected. And then it's expected of people of our nature and our culture. So it was something that had to be done.”
‘That day brought pure happiness’
While some have criticized the extravagance, Harris says she’s proud of her son, and thankful for the chance to celebrate the graduating senior who’s heading to Eastern University in the fall.
“There is a lot of tragedy in the city of Philadelphia, you know. There's a lot of pain. There's a lot of trauma,” Treva said. “So, that day brought pure happiness. … You know, the energy was good. There was nothing negative going on out there. So that was a beautiful thing.”
Angelia, too, says she is grateful, and she takes pride in her privilege to be able to express her love by going all out on the occasion.
“I'm just so happy that we get to see our kids go on proms,” Ayres said. “I praise kids who are doing the right thing and I'm proud of her. I'm very proud of her,” she said.
Aniyah says this is just the start for her: “We still got senior year. Next year is gonna be bigger and better!”
Says mom, “Yeah, okay.”