By Fabio Braggion
Herald Intern
Hundreds gathered in historic downtown Sanford on October 16 to watch Seminole High School perform their homecoming parade with Idyllwilde Elementary.
The parade is one event in a series of celebrations marking homecoming week, including dress-up days, a Homecoming dance, and the eventual homecoming game on October 17.
Kicking off at Fort Mellon Park, the parade carried on through First Street, stopping at the clock tower in the center of downtown. It was led by three police motorcycles and a vintage SFD fire truck, followed by the Seminole High School's Air Force Junior ROTC club, waving local, state and national flags.
Idyllwilde Elementary led the parade with their mascot Sparky on the back of a white pick-up truck. The different clubs and organizations within the school held banners and posters as kids marched on dressed in orange, waving at their parents.
Seminole High School was heralded in by their dance troupe following a lifted black car with gold rims and a speaker mounted to the back. From there, the high school’s many clubs came out to celebrate, holding posters and banners, including their Black Student Union, wrestling team, and Hispanic Student Association, who wore carnival masks and waved flags from Latin American countries.
“I love getting the community together and all of us to celebrate our big win that we’re gonna get tomorrow,” said Juliana Kerr, 16-year-old sophomore and part of one of the high school’s cheerleading squads, the varsity dazzlers.
Kerr explained that the cheerleaders had been practicing in class for the parade, like they usually do every year.
The cheerleaders marked the second half of the parade, which included the football team and marching band, who’d been playing since they first arrived at Fort Mellon Park.
“We were supposed to be here at 4:15, and then we just did a rehearsal, like 20 minutes of rehearsal, and then we just got in line, and the parade started at 5:00,” said Cornelius Bode, a 15-year-old freshman playing trumpet in the high school's marching band.
The marching band stopped in the center of downtown and began to play the high school’s theme, surrounded by the football team, the cheerleaders, and the people of Sanford.
“I’ve never done this before, it’s my first year, and it felt more fun to be in, almost like a mosh pit, and play and all that,” said Bode.
The less formal setting was also fun for the cheerleaders, who Kerr stated were not used to the closer audience.
“A lot closer audience, normally we’re far away. And we get to really connect with our community more, on a more personal level,” said Kerr.
The woodwinds and brass then formed a circle around the drum core and began to perform a playbook’s worth of songs for minutes on end.
“Our classes are split up into woodwinds and brass instruments, so I don’t get to see everybody,” said David Schaffer, a 14-year-old freshman playing clarinet in the marching band.
Schaffer, Bode, and the rest of the marching band jammed together with the rest of the high school, dancing and playing as loud as they could while the sun set.
By the end of the music, the crowd had dispersed into the local restaurants and shops, and Kerr celebrated her birthday.
“It was a great parade and I can’t wait for next year,” said Kerr.
