The planning is nearly complete. After an eight-year hiatus, the Perry High School Homecoming parade will return Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. under the sponsorship of the Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Perry Community School District.
In order to draw attention to the renewed event, representatives of the PHS Bluejay Congress met Friday morning with directors of the Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce to officially unveil the 2016 Homecoming Parade plans.
“What we’re trying to bring back at the Chamber is the longstanding tradition of the homecoming parade,” said Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bob Wilson.
Attending the unveiling were senior class Bluejay Congress representatives Emma Olejniczak, Brooke Huntington, Sarah Sweet, Alicia Calderon, Tony Le and Devon Archer. Representing the junior class were Connor Nielsen, Sidney Vancil, Luke Rathje and Alexis Garrido. Sophomore representatives were Conner Kenyon, Camden Studer, Jamileth Sarceno and Mario Cruz.
Brenda Minutn is the PHS faculty adviser for the Bluejay Congress. She was joined at the unveiling by Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors President Lee Coons, Past President Samantha Smith, Board member Misty Von Behren and Wilson.
“The neat thing about it is this year we’re going to host,” Wilson said, “with the communication going to the school and everybody in the community. The idea is to bring the community and the school district together not only to celebrate you guys’ achievements but the staff, faculty and the entire community. And we’re going to do that by having a parade.”
Since float-making skills require many years to grow deeps roots in a culture, and the students now in high school barely remember the last time PHS had a homecoming parade, each class will team up with adult mentors from the Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce. These old hands at float making will assist the novices in design and construction of the floats.
Senior class mentors are Lee Coons and Samantha Smith. Assisting the juniors will be Kelsey Hughes and Matt May, and mentors for the sophomores are Chamber Board members Chrissy Von Behren Danger, Dave Wright and Jay Hartz.
Former Perry Mayor Wright said the “parade’s purpose would not be only for the upcoming football game but to celebrate all the activities in the Perry Schools and support from the Perry community for the schools.”
The Perry-Area Chamber of Commerce led the way in reviving the homecoming parade tradition, but it was accomplished through the combined efforts of numerous civic groups, including Perry Industries, the Bluejay Congress and students, faculty and staff of the Perry Community School District, the Perry Booster Club, the Perry Schools Alumni Association, Hispanics United for Perry (HUP), several non-Chamber businesses and many Perry residents.
Perry will play Gilbert at Dewey Field on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. With the Leon Fox Invitational cross country meet already scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 29, the parade was moved back one day.
The 6 p.m. parade will begin at PHS and move westward on Willis Avenue toward the downtown area. Participants will include the PHS Marching Band, the PHS Homecoming royalty and attendants, school athletes and many others.
The chamber of commerce will provide cars for the homecoming court and safe transportation for the athletic teams that wish to participate.
Homecoming week will be filled as usual with a variety of activities, from window and driveway painting to Volunteer Day. ThePerryNews.com will provide continuous coverage of the revived festivities.
The annual homecoming procession fell out of favor after a student was injured in the 2006 parade. The ground rules of the returning parade will be simple: No candy or other items will be tossed from any parade float or other entry. School administration will be consulted for rules of conduct and guidelines for student participation in the parade.
“Pride is an important part of any community,” Wright said. “Pride in country, pride in community, pride in our schools and pride in ourselves. I think this promotion gives us the opportunity to make a visible splash in the community.”
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