When Homecoming week rolls around each year, we all expect to see the court’s crazy costumes and their choreographed dance during the pep rally. But what you don’t know is how much time and effort goes behind the scenes to make this week possible. Here are five components to homecoming week you may not have known about from the perspective of a court member herself!
- Dress Up Days
If I had a dollar for every time somebody asked me what I was dressed as this week, I would probably have one million dollars. Now, if I had a dollar for every time somebody asked me if ASB told me what to dress up as, I would have two million dollars. After being nominated to homecoming court, we had a meeting with Ms. Claypoole and a few ASB members who were in charge of homecoming week. It was at that meeting that the court found out the theme of each dress up day. We were told that it was up to each pair to decide what they wanted to dress up as. There were some obvious costume choices, which is why we were given strict instructions on the time that we would need to submit our costume ideas. We were told that it was first come first serve, and that the earliest we could submit our costume choices would be at 1pm on Saturday, October 1st. So, in short, ASB decides on the theme of each day, but each couple decides individually what they want to dress up as.
- Family Dinner
The halftime show is one of the best moments of homecoming week. After a full week of dressing up in crazy costumes and playing games at lunch, it’s nice to get dressed up. The football game starts at 7pm, but the court is at Costa long before then. At around 6pm, the court members, along with any family that they want to bring, have a dinner in the faculty cafeteria. All of the court members get to meet everybody else’s family over some good Italian food. This is when the court reflects on their week and accomplishments of being nominated to the court.
- ASB After Dark
When the lights turn off at halftime, the homecoming letters and arches don’t just magically appear. On Sunday night, the court members and their parents, as well as ASB show up at 8pm for a halftime run through. Members from ASB, known as the ninja crew because they are dressed in all black practice running onto the field with the letters and arches in the pitch black. Although nothing can really prepare any of us for what the real situation will be like, ASB makes sure to practice sprinting onto the field time after time to make sure that the half time show runs as smoothly as possible.
- Where Is Costa Hiding Those Cars?
Last year, when I was in the stands watching the couples ride around the track in old Mustangs, I felt a hint of curiosity. I wondered how Costa got these cars and where they stored them each year. This year, I found out that the cars come from the Beach Cities Mustang Club(LINK http://www.bcmc.net). Each year, members of the club allow Costa to use six of their cars for the halftime show. They are truly generous to lend us their cars and I think they really complete the entrances.
- We are all actors!
Each year, the court stars in a video that is broadcasted at the football game. Who is behind this video? Members of the broadcast journalism class write the script, film the video, and edit it before it hits the big screen. The court gets to input their ideas on what the theme of the video should be, and they also get to edit the script to their style if they want to. I worked on the video last year, and it took countless hours to find times that would work with everybody, to film it, and to finish it. This year, the members of the broadcast journalism staff who put the video together were able to get everybody together and film the whole video in one day. It was tons of fun making the video last year, but it was even more fun being in it this year!
