Floating into the Homecoming parade
The weekend before Homecoming entails one tradition full of stress, bonding and teamwork: float building. Every year, the Executive Board, Student Board, Student Council and volunteer students plan and build floats that correspond with the Homecoming dance theme, this year being “jungle.”
A lot of preparation goes into the float building. Requiring almost five to ten different people, the task takes about three hours to complete from start to finish.
“We have had a group chat going for about two weeks just throwing out ideas and seeing who [will get] what supplies. A lot of it is about organization, so we all pitched in and came together,” said Ellie Marguson, junior and Student Council member.
Part of the organizational process is planning how to showcase the theme. Float builders brainstorm ideas in order to ensure that the floats will stand out. This year, builders decided between “Tarzan,” “Jurassic Park” and Harambe. The juniors eventually settled with “Tarzan” and the seniors with “Jurassic Park”.
“We picked ‘Jurassic Park’ [because] we thought the dinosaurs would be fun to have on the float,” said Abby Ward, senior.
Another aspect that goes into consideration when designing the floats is the financial side. The builders have a rough budget of $200. Spending within the limit allows the builders to be reimbursed. However, going over the limit requires them to pay out of their own pocket.
While all this seems like stressful work, students describe the event as more “fun” than work.
“What goes into float building is a lot of pizza, a lot of hours, and a lot of paint,” said Executive Board President Eric Chang, senior.
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