FITCHBURG — The annual Princess Boutique and subsequent prom are time honored traditions that help make senior year special for the young adults graduating from high school this evening.
Fitchburg High School (FHS) World Language Spanish teacher Aury Rivera started collecting prom dresses in the closet of her classroom in 2020 after realizing that some of the students couldn’t afford them and opened her first Princess Boutique in 2023. Since then, the FHS Latin American Club sponsored affair that has been upgraded to the Princess and Prince Boutique has provided thousands of gorgeous dresses along with jewelry, purses, shoes, makeup, tuxedo rentals, and more for the students — all donated, all free.
Rivera’s classroom was once again packed for this year’s Princess and Prince Boutique held on April 17. The Latin American Club advisor who immigrated to the U.S. from Puerto Rico in 1996 and graduated from FHS two years later said it was “a success” and “one of the best so far.”
“The students from the Latin American Club ran the event with the help of staff members and parents who came to volunteer,” Rivera said. “We had 600 dresses, makeup, jewelry, shoes and accessories and tuxes, jackets, shirts, and ties as well.”
The dedicated educator is grateful for all the sponsors who help make the event successful year after year, including Rollstone Bank who collected items for the boutique in all their branches this year plus gave them a check for $795 that was used to buy clothing for the young men and prom tickets. In addition, Rivera’s husband’s Fitchburg business Thumbs Up Barber Shop donated gift certificates for haircuts, Nyashaz Nails for nails, and Ulta donated gift cards for makeup.
Although she didn’t attend prom this year as in past years, Rivera said she enjoyed seeing photos of her students all glammed up at the May 9 affair held at Wachusett Mountain in Princeton and looking sharp in the clothing they got from the boutique she proudly puts on every spring. Her two children attended, daughter Jariana Rivera who is wrapping up in her junior year at Monty Tech, and son Juan Rivera Jr., who will be walking across the stage at graduation tonight as part of the FHS Class of 2026.
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