The Beehive Collective is a local non profit that’s mission “is to pollinate community giving in Raleigh and inspire young women to lead.” As part of that mission, the Collective hosted The Bee Ball: A Second Chance Prom. The event, held at The Berkeley Café, appeared to be a stunning success; filling the Café to near overflowing with a good time had by all.

(photo by John Morris)

Live music was provided by the local big band ensemble The Atomic Rhythm All Stars. The Atomic Rhythm lived up to its name, putting out solid music playing both classic standards and a wonderful rendition of the Super Mario Theme.

A pleasant couple shares a moment in the patio area.

The hula hoop girl pauses for a photograph

Two members of The Atomic Rhythm pose for a picture in between sets.

There was a plethora of photographers at the event.

While all the couples at the prom were adorable, these two definitely took the cake. They were fantastic dancers, and for some reason reminded me of the Fitzgeralds. This picture, while far from great, was the best one I got, the rest they’re just a blur with a smear of grin.

I wasted a lot of memory space trying to catch them dancing before finally asking them to pose. They told me they took horrible staged photographs, but I think any fault with this photograph is mine.

These guys were also quite wonderful. They tolerated me photographing them for far longer than most people can stand, and were really thrilled about having their picture taken. I had about half a dozen pretty good shots of them, but I think this one and the next one were my favorites.

Probably my favorite shot of the evening

By far one of the greatest outfits of the evening.

These guys were also pretty amazing dancers – the girl was one of the photographers there, and was kind enough to end with a big pause so I could catch a shot. Photographing dancers in the dark without a flash is always an interesting experiment.

Two more members of The Atomic Rhythm.

A dapper gentleman. This guys outfit was really sharp.

Music in between sets was provided by DJ Drew Diggle.

Another wonderful pair

I’m not quite sure I ever understood what was going on here…

Lori, Reagan, and David Millsaps, Publisher of New Raleigh

The Atomic Rhythm (photo by John Morris)

The evening early on (photo by John Morris)