By DEBRA DUNLAP

Ah, spring! The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and the high school juniors and seniors are emptying their parents’ pockets preparing for prom.

For most seniors, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; a final fling before classmates graduate and go their separate ways. Typically juniors host the prom for the upper-classmen and view it as a type of dress-rehearsal for their own senior year.

Prom is a big deal. It’s also big business. A nationwide survey conducted by Visa states the average American household in 2014 spent $978 on the annual high school rite of passage. Read the full feature on proms in the weekend News. Pictured: The Prairie Valley School sophomore class enjoys the prom: Kelcy Oliver, Emily Barfield, Kelsey Perkins, Jordan Gaston, Lexi Roof, Kendra Woods and Brian Dunn. (Photo by Kayla Jean Woods)