Columbus High students were devastated when administration announced that there would not be a homecoming dance this year due to COVID-19. However, there is still a chance for a get together amongst the student body: a Homecoming Block Party.
“We wanted [the event] to feel like a party you would find on a neighborhood block,” Mrs. Catchings, one of the co-sponsors of this event, reports.
“There will be carnival-style games like corn hole, or ladder ball,” Mr. Medders—the other sponsor—adds. “Everyone’s gonna get free [snowcones], and there’ll be people selling refreshments.”
Another game that will be at the party is a dunking booth, which will star one of Columbus High School’s assistant principals: Mr. McGarr. Students can dunk him into water for a low fare: $1 for two throws.
Compared to dances in previous years, the block party will be less formal, so students will not be expected to dress up in dresses and suits like they would at a traditional homecoming dance.
The block party will be held in the main parking lot of the school, with students parking in the teacher and junior parking lots, around the school, and at Lakebottom Park. Since the event will be held here instead of the school courtyards, students will be able to socially distance themselves.
In addition, masks will be “required in the dancing area near the DJ,” Catchings reveals. However, masks are not mandated in other areas of the party, so long as students are socially distanced.
Similarly, students will be told not to “congregate in large groups,” says Charlie Hearn, the senior who initially proposed this event to Dr. Crumbs.
Students at Columbus High seem to share similar sentiments about the Homecoming Block Party.
“I’m really excited for it,” freshman and varsity football starter Max Uneanya says. He, like others, was “kind of bummed” when the dance was first canceled.
“The block party is a better idea [than a traditional dance] because, you know, we’re outside [and] more spread out, especially with everybody in this school getting COVID,” varsity football player and sophomore Cameron Webb Rutherford says.
“I hope a lot of students will come… a lot of kids [on student council] were helping out with ideas and trying to make it as close to homecoming as possible,” junior student council member Neha Nakirkanti reveals.
There are two dates for the party: Wednesday, October 6th for freshmen and sophomores, and October 7th for juniors and seniors. It starts at 4:30 and ends at 7:30, and tickets for entry are $5.
“The block party was created in order to include all students in the homecoming festivities. If we hosted just a dance, only seniors and juniors would be allowed to attend plus masks would have been required,” Catchings reveals.
“COVID has been a struggle for us all so we teachers are hoping this will bring a little bit of normalcy back to CHS,” she adds.
For upperclassmen who miss the excitement of a high school dance, or for underclassmen who have yet to experience it, this block party is meant to be an opportunity for all students to have a fun time, while still being safe.