In most high schools, when it comes to prom, it’s the junior class that takes care of planning. Between a collection of junior students and their parents, they handle ticketing, themes, decorating — essentially everything. And it’s usually not a source of anxiety or drama.
But at Nicollet High School this year, prom planning involved an unexpected element of gambling. Not in the “place your bets” sense. But in the “OMG, I hope they like the new venue” sense.
“We were definitely very nervous,” said junior Ali Bruns. “There was definitely some talk about if anyone would like this or not.”
In years past, the Nicollet High School prom was held at Chankaska Creek Ranch, Winery and Distillery, one of the region’s classiest venues. And those proms were successful.
But this year they looked for a change of pace. And while cost wasn’t a primary concern, it was still a concern. They looked around for other venues, hoping to find something closer to home. That’s when they heard about the renovated barn at the rural Nicollet home of Eric and Erica Koser.
The renovation, featured in an October 2023 issue of The Free Press, was extensive. Eric Koser, a physics teacher at Mankato West High School — a man who says he always needs a project — made “barn restoration” his big project of 2023. The couple succeeded in getting the barn ready for their son’s wedding, and said back in October that they’d like to see the barn used as a venue for other events.
That sentiment reached the prom committee and its members contacted the Kosers. And then a parent on the committee, Alesia Slater, visited the barn.
“When she came to visit, it was an awfully cold day in winter and the barn was kind of dusty,” Eric Koser said. “But I said, ‘Use your imagination.’”
Initial impressions were good enough to bring the kids out, which prompted logistical questions about decorations, catering, music, restrooms, parking, etc. The kids, to their credit, did use their imaginations. They ignored the dust and cobwebs. They ignored the goat pens just outside the barn which, the Kosers admitted, needed some work (the pens, not the goats, which are fine).
Said Slater, “The kids were skeptical. When you hear, ‘We’re gonna hold our prom meal and dance in a barn,’ what do you think about? An old barn that needs a lot of work.”
And after envisioning what prom could look like in the barn, they took a gamble and booked it, hoping their classmates would approve. And that sort of lit a fire under the Kosers. They’d been talking for months, in the denouement of the excitement of their son’s wedding, about ramping up efforts to turn the barn into an event venue. This was the nudge they needed.
They got to work on adding the proper insurance and filed paperwork with the state to officially designate the venue as Hidden Silo Farm. Eric Koser built a boardwalk leading up to the barn — the kind that would prevent prom dresses from dragging through mud in the case of inclement weather. Erica Koser worked on logistics, coordinating everything with the school to make sure everything would be as perfect as possible for prom 2024.
Once those dresses and tuxes arrived at the barn via school bus — fresh from the Grand March held back at the high school — that’s when the fun started.
The prom committee and the Kosers had arranged and decorated the room. The local fire hall brought over banquet tables. The American Legion provided chairs. After a good cleaning by the Kosers, the place was ready for the 80 or so students to dance the night away.
Before the event began, some of the seniors were unsure about how things would go. Many of them were used to previous proms, used to heading to the swanky confines of Chankaska and doing group photos there.
The attitude was a tad “What’s this about a barn outside of down? And do we really have to take school buses to get there?”
“We weren’t too sure about it,” senior Mackenzie Regner said. “But once we took the bus there, everything was very nice. We liked the little twinkle lights. And once we got to the dance part of it, a lot of us were more involved in it because a lot of us took the bus there. And we really liked the music and the DJ and how open the owners were to us. We really had a good experience there.”
Bruns, relieved afterward when it was clear the venue gamble paid off, agreed.
“From what I’ve heard,” she said, “everyone enjoyed it. We were out dancing the whole night and it was just a really good time for most people.”
While it’s not official yet, it’s a good bet 2025’s prom will be heading back to Hidden Silo Farm. When it does, it’s likely the venue will have had a few more events under its belt.
They don’t want to host weddings every weekend in the summer, but the Kosers say they’ll be trying to find their niche in the local venue market, a niche that is more yoga retreats and small high school proms than big events that require a lot of parking — a somewhat limiting factor for Hidden Silo.
“We will be catering to smaller groups,” Erica Koser said. “What we had with prom — that was perfect. It was a good size. We don’t have a ton of parking, depending on what’s growing in the field. So that limits us some. But we’ve had some conversations with some churches that are going to come out this summer and do Sunday services out here.”
Whatever the event, the Kosers believe they’ve created a venue that, with its strikingly rustic appearance, will be a place where memories are made.
Regner agreed.
“I’ll remember all the people who were out on the dance floor dancing and singing along to the music,” she said, “and how pretty it was and how the DJ would be open up to anyone who wanted to take control of the mic.”