A Traditional Huntington Homecoming on Tap
An exciting week will culminate on Friday and Saturday as Huntington High School celebrates its annual Homecoming festivities. The activities will include Friday night float building, a mid-day parade on Saturday followed by a football game and an evening student dance.
Alumni stretching back decades are expected to join the fun, returning to their alma mater and renewing friendships. Interest has been building all week as graduates and current students put their weekend plans in motion. The Class of 1959 is holding a 50th anniversary “senior prom” dinner dance Saturday night at the Huntington Crescent Club.
The parade will kick-off Saturday morning at 12:15 p.m. and proceed through the heart of Huntington Village, down Main Street to New York Avenue and the Big H Shopping Center and up Holdsworth Drive to the high school. It will include four class floats, the Blue Devil marching band, cars carrying members of the Royal Court, trucks ferrying fall sports teams and hundreds of students, parents and family members. The colorful and creative class floats will be on display in front of the high school following the parade.
The weekend will also see more than 100 Blue Devil marching band alumni return for the band’s 75th anniversary. Alumni will rehearse Friday night and Saturday morning and then march together in the parade and later perform the Star Spangled Banner on the field prior to the game. An anniversary dinner is planned for Saturday night at the Elks Club.
The 2 p.m. varsity football game will pit the Blue Devils against cross-town rival Harborfields. Admission is free and no tickets are required. Halftime activities will include the crowning of the Homecoming king and queen, performances by the Blue Devil marching band and the Highsteppers, the school’s competitive dance team and an announcement of the winning class float entry.
“It’s going to be a great day for Huntington,” Superintendent John J. Finello said. “Everyone is invited to attend the parade and the football game.”
A Friday afternoon pep rally at the school is planned. Students will be busy Friday night, putting the finishing touches on class floats until midnight. Following their practice, varsity and JV football players are expected to attend a traditional team dinner organized by parents in the school cafeteria.
As many as 500 students will be at the Homecoming dance Saturday night in the Huntington High School gym, having a grand time from 8 p.m. until midnight. 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 reminiscing about their high school years.
Last year’s festivities drew a crowd estimated at more than 2,000. It saw seniors Steve Perini and Caitlin Ortiz crowned Homecoming king and queen, respectively. If the weather cooperates, a similar throng is expected this weekend at Huntington High School.
The Huntington Booster Club will be collecting gently used or new sports equipment at the football game for the Devil’s Den, which provides student-athletes with equipment they might not be able to afford. The items can be dropped off at the group’s distinctive large white-and-blue trailer that will be parked adjacent to the football field.
Teacher Brad Reminick will serve as the PA announcer for the football game and halftime festivities. The Booster Club will be selling food and refreshments and a variety of Blue Devil athletic apparel.
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