Students, parents, and community members congregated in the upper parking lot for the 2nd annual pre-Homecoming-game tailgate after school on October 17. Food and drink were enjoyed as excitement mounted for the game against Las Lomas.
“Basically, it’s just a party/celebration thing before the game just to kind of get people pumped up,” explained Associated Student Body [ASB] secretary and senior Julia Giovanni. Tailgate attendees celebrated Cougar pride with red face paint, T-shirts, and pom-poms. The Cougar mascot also made an appearance.
According to Giovanni, leadership held a tailgate last year, however “it didn’t really work that well. One of the vendors didn’t show up. It was kind of a failure, so this year we’re trying to make sure it goes better.”
The ASB planned the event. “We started planning it in August. It’s always been in the back of our minds,” said Giovanni. Set-up began at 3 p.m. and lasted until 5 on the day of the event.
Highlights included games, blow-up slides, jumpy castles, food, and music. C.R.E.A.M. and Morucci’s Sandwiches, the featured vendors, were a hit. According to Giovanni, the Campolindo band played live music.
Funding came “straight out of the ASB money,” said Giovanni.
“It’s not a fund-raiser, it’s not doing anything to earn any money, it’s just for homecoming, just for fun,” she added.
Freshman Izzy Fleury, who sported red-sprayed hair and red clothing to show her Cougar pride, said, “I’m enjoying it!” as she bounced down the inflatable slide.
Leadership adviser Dino Petrocco said, “I think it was a success. I thought that actually went really well. ” He confirmed that leadership will host the event next year and will “probably have more real food.”
According to Petrocco, “the cotton candy was big, a big-seller. I was amazed; we sold like 75 things of cotton candy.”
Leadership is “beginning to gear up for our next big event, which is the canned food drive in December,” said Petrocco. He added that leadership always strives “to try and improve things and to try to get a bigger draw of folks to come to our events.”
