It was a chilly yet beautiful Thursday night in October. Court Street was packed, students were dressed to the nines and the sparkling lights coming from Pub Bar could only point to one event: Pub Prom.
What some students may think is so “high school,” is to others the event of the year. For 19 years, Pub Prom has been a thrilling evening encouraging students and Athens locals to dress up, dance and party inside their favorite bar.
The Pub, located at 39 N Court St., opened in 1974 and is home to Athens’ “best burger,” and hosts fun and welcoming events for those who love a good night out. Garret Mathson, general manager of The Pub, started Pub Prom 19 years ago and shares a long history with the bar.
"It has always been word of mouth and we always just do it,” Mathson said. “It is just an excuse to dress up, elevate just a little bit … even if it means just going to local thrift stores and finding stuff there … it is just something for fun.”
Mathson said Pub parties are always a good time and the bar’s atmosphere brings people, including himself, closer to others.
“A lot of relationships struck up that way, through The Pub,” Mathson said. “People just hanging out and then people keep coming back who’ve got families now, they have kids now. I think that is a really neat part of it.”
Pub Prom not only exemplifies the bar’s ability to create connections but also encourages both students and employees to dance the night away.
Riley James, a graduate student studying management, has been a Pub employee since 2022 but recently became a night manager in the summer of 2024. She said the entire staff attends the event, including bartenders, bouncers, servers and the kitchen crew.
“It is really fun for everybody, we take a big staff picture,” James said. “It is nice to get everybody who works there all together at the same time, it is pretty encouraged for everybody to make it.”
Although having to work the event can be tiresome, James said her coworkers helped when it got busy and made the shift memorable and special.
“I think it is fun to work times like those because I get to see everybody, I get to talk to everybody, it doesn’t really feel like I’m working,” James said. “I got a couple Pub Proms to enjoy, so I like to give everybody else a chance to have fun and hang out.”
Despite the glittering silver, blue and white streamers, holographic backdrops and colorful strobe lights, Pub Prom has always fallen between homecoming and Halloween weekend and doesn’t have a specific theme. Instead, attendees are encouraged to express their personal styles and be confident in their own skin.
Ainsley Poland, a sophomore studying music production and recording industry, said Pub is one of her favorite hangout spots and there was no pressure to follow a dress code.
“We just figured this would be a really fun reason to get all dolled up and why not?” Poland said. "Gives you something to do on a Thursday night."
Poland wore a black dress and a pair of Converse and her favorite part of the night was dancing alongside new and existing friends.
“I broke down that dance floor like nobody’s business,” Poland said. “There wasn’t much dancing room, but when there was, trust, I was on the dance floor.”
Poland’s roommate, Sophia Gittings, a sophomore studying entrepreneurship, shared a similar experience and said the Pub’s setting is fun, but also comforting.
“Honestly, I love The Pub so much and I think it is because they just have this atmosphere where it is very welcoming for everybody,” Gittings said. “There are so many different people that go there … it feels so safe.”
Pub Prom is not just an excuse to travel back in time and relive high school dances, but it also creates opportunities for students not involved in sorority and fraternity life and other campus organizations.
“It is always during the week which I really like for people that don’t get a chance to attend a date party or any kind of event like that,” James said. “I think it is just fun to … get dressed up and take pictures … it is a different vibe from what normally Pub is like, which is very casual.”
Whether a person has attended Pub Prom or is now planning to in the future, it is important to recognize the bar’s history of fostering friendships and memories. Poland encourages everyone to mark their calendars and come next year’s party.
“It is a good way to get to know people, I talked to a bunch of people I have never talked to before,” Poland said. “What better place to support than The Pub?”
