“A-one, two, three, four!”
The drumline kicked off Atholton’s 51st Homecoming parade with a bang as they marched out of Hickory Ridge Village Center onto Freetown Road towards the school. The Atholton Marching Band, always one of the highlights of the parade followed behind them with a rousing rendition of the school fight song.
Then, the senior float dedicated to the Disney Channel went by, followed by the Varsity cheer squad and the football team, who championed the Homecoming game against Glenelg later that day. Drama also had a float, as did the Poms.
“I think everyone likes [the floats]. I mean, they’re so cheerful and all the different colors and characters and things,” Ryan Robb said, of the parade highlight.
The floats have always been a very important part of the parade. Each class has a theme, and they are assigned a hallway in the school to decorate according to that theme. Then, on Saturday morning, everyone gathers, rain or shine, to decorate their floats.
This year, the juniors transplanted most of their winning hallway onto their Nickelodeon float. The sophomores had a float about Cartoon Network, and the freshmen really had a throwback to the PBS Kids channel. Everyone had their favorite.
“I have to say the freshmen’s, because I was on it,” said Robb, a freshman attending her first Homecoming Parade.
The Homecoming parade has been a long-standing Atholton tradition since the school’s opening back in 1966. Along with the other Homecoming Day festivities, it seeks to be a reminder of school spirit–what Atholton is all about.
There was a lot of enthusiasm at the Hickory Ridge Village Center as people excitedly posed for pictures and hurriedly passed around tape to put the finishing touches on their decorated pickup trucks.
For some, this was their first time as an active participant. Others, like sophomore Ellie Meeks have enjoyed attending the parade for multiple years. But no matter how many times students, parents, teachers, and alumni alike have attended the parade, one thing is always the same: the infectious level of excitement.
“I really enjoyed throwing candy at people,” Meeks concluded. Robb concurred, saying, “It really got the little kids involved, and they got so excited when we threw it.”
Whether it was throwing candy or waving from floats, the Atholton community threw itself into the event in order to make the Homecoming Parade a rousing success!