“We have gowns; we have short, we have long, we have puffy,” Kim Wiltse explained, as she wheeled a rack of dresses through Calgary’s Marlborough Mall on Friday.
The organizer of this weekend’s “GownTown” event, Wiltse was pleased with all the donated dresses she’d received.
“A little bit of everything. Enough to suit every girl’s dream.”
GownTown takes away part of the high price tag that can come with celebrating the end of high school.
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Graduating students can pick up a dress that’d normally cost hundreds of dollars for $10 at GownTown, with all the proceeds going to charity.
Wiltse expects a big response this year, saying she’s “anticipating a lot more girls this year, just the way the economy is.”
Calgarians are stepping up to meet that demand, with GownTown receiving 200 dresses–double the usual amount of donations.
Two graduating students got an early chance to check out the selection on Friday.
Nicole Wilkes was pleased with the peach-coloured gown she found, grateful for the people who donated.
“What they do for us is great!” she said.
READ MORE: Canadians plan to spend more than $500 on prom this year, says survey
Wilkes’ friend, Hadien Saley, was glad to find an elegant grey dress.
“I’m so thankful that we found our dresses and we can go party,”
Graduating students with photo ID are welcome to stop by GownTown between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday, April 17.
If you’d like to donate a dress, you can drop it off during normal shopping hours at the customer service desk at Marlborough Mall, anytime before Sunday.