When homecoming week rolls around, the school is filled with a buzz. There’s so much to do and so little time. From buying tickets to last minute shopping, homecoming week has earned its spot on the “busiest weeks of the school year” list. However, the events planned for the students far outdo the stress of getting everything done on time. One of these events is the homecoming parade.
For years, the homecoming parade has been an attraction in Edwardsville during the month of October. Falling on Wednesday, Oct. 16 between the dodgeball tournament on Tuesday and the movie night on Thursday, the parade is a fun way to help kick off the events leading up to the homecoming football game and dance.
Senior Class Secretary and Student Council member Kristen Dowell finds the homecoming parade to be a really important part of homecoming week. “It gets the community involved,” Dowell said. “They get to come see the homecoming theme, the court members and the homecoming king and queen candidates.”
Senior French Club President Kristine Shady also really enjoys the parade. “I think the parade pulls the whole school together, as well as the club,” Shady said. “It gets everyone hyped for this week and homecoming.”
Similar to other parades, floats begin in Eden Church parking lot and make their way down Main Street, ending at Lincoln Middle School. The streets are lined with viewers and the floats are designed by the variety of clubs at EHS.
“Nothing really gets better than riding in a car with classmates and shouting your class number again and again,” Dowell said.
Although entering in the float contest is completely optional, many clubs participate for competitive purposes. Last years winner was National Honor Society (NHS) followed by French Club in second place. The NHS float contained a ferris wheel to go with the carnival theme, which was later used in homecoming decoration.
This year, Key Club took the win along with a $300 prize, followed by EPIC in second place with a $150 prize and Spanish Club in third place with a $75 prize.
Junior Key Club Vice President Rachel Denmon put a lot of work into the Key Club float and was very excited to hear that they had won. “We all worked so hard on the float so it was definitely a big encouragement and confidence booster for our club.”
“I love seeing all the unique floats and doing things as a club,” Shady said. “It’s fun to make the float and it’s also great to see how excited kids are when you walk by.”
The streets were full, the candy was flying and the homecoming dance is on the horizon.