Huntington High School Homecoming Plans Shaping Up
Huntington High School will celebrate its annual Homecoming on Saturday, September 29 with a morning parade through the heart of Huntington village, an afternoon football game and an evening dance for students. Alumni and residents are invited to set the date aside and participate in the festivities.
Alumni from across the country are expected to return for the day, meeting up with friends and in some cases, former teachers. Plans for the weekend are expected to be finalized by mid-September. However, the basic outline of the day has continued with little change for decades.
Students will construct four parade floats the night before the big day.
Each class will enter a float into competition against the others. The floats will be built at the high school between 6 p.m. and midnight. The winning float will be announced at halftime of Saturday’s game, which will pit the Blue Devils against local rival Harborfields. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Last year’s Homecoming was moved to Cold Spring Harbor High School due to the demolition and ultimate reconstruction of Blue Devil Stadium, complete with new bleachers, a synthetic turf field, modern running track and sleek scoreboard. This year’s event marks the first Homecoming held at the new complex.
The parade, which is annually organized by the high school student government, will begin at 10:30 a.m. and include the Blue Devil marching band, nominees for Homecoming King and Queen, cheerleaders, students, athletes and members of the school district community.
The marching band is expected to provide rousing halftime entertainment. The Highsteppers, the high school’s competitive dance team, is also expected to perform. Nominees for king and queen honors will also be introduced at halftime and the winners will be announced.
Despite being forced off-site, last year’s festivities drew a crowd estimated at about 2,500. “The game always draws a huge crowd,” Huntington Superintendent John J. Finello said. “We want all of our alumni to be aware of the date of this year’s event so they can make plans to attend.”
A Friday afternoon pep rally traditionally begins the weekend’s activities. Alumni from as far back as the 1930’s have attended the parade and football game in recent years and in the past some graduating classes have opted to schedule reunions around Homecoming weekends.
Tradition also dictates a football team dinner Friday night in the school cafeteria following completion of varsity and junior varsity practices. Team parents host the affair. 
If tradition holds, alumni will gather at restaurants and pubs throughout the village for individual and group reunions and get-togethers, catching up on personal news and relieving the high school years. “It’s a special weekend,” Mr. Finello said. “It’s a great time to reconnect with friends and the high school.”
A Saturday night dance for high school students will be held in the gymnasium from 8 p.m. to midnight. Last year’s dance attracted more than 400 teenagers.
As more information becomes available, it will be posted on the district’s website at www.hufsd.edu.
Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office