Every year Homecoming Week is packed full of activities and traditions. Student Senate along with English teachers Grace Nohner and Jarrett Lundquist work tirelessly to put together a week full of school spirit and fun.

“Homecoming is a good time to celebrate being back to school, and bring the school and the community together. It also unites Orono alumni with current Orono students,” Lundquist said.

Dress up days are an ongoing tradition, but the specific themes can change each year. Every year there are different themes for each day of Homecoming Week and the student senate does a brilliant job at keeping the themed outfits enjoyable, original and able to be found in most closets.

This year one of the themes that was new and very popular was “salad dressing day.” This theme united each grade level, because each grade had their own individual theme that went with the theme for the whole school. Another theme was “jeans and white T-shirt day.” This was a theme that most students could participate in, so it also helped unify the school.

Each day has a different activity that takes a lot of planning in advance, but both Mr. Lundquist and Mrs. Nohner agree that the parade and pep fest on the final day take the most planning.

“It is a lot of work to set up the parade and pep fest. We have to not only coordinate with the high school but also all the other schools and the clubs,” Nohner said, “We have to make sure that all the clubs and activities have their floats ready in time for the start of the parade. We also have to make sure that after the parade everyone knows to go to the pep fest.”

Because there are numerous traditions, many people have a personal favorite.

“My favorite homecoming activity is class comp because it is fun to see all of the grades compete and it really unites the grade and people get really into it, and they get super competitive,” senior Erica Crosby said.

“I like the variety show because I think it is really fun to watch everyone perform and you learn about people’s talents that you didn’t know they had,” sophomore Grace Larsen said.

Some people have their own homecoming traditions that they create on top of the planned school traditions and sometimes they can be the most special.

“Every year after the dance my group goes to Perkins at one in the morning and we always have the same waitress,” senior Oscar Edward-Hughes said.

Homecoming is an eagerly anticipated event every year. It is a week packed full of activities and traditions that can lead to some of the most memorable high school experiences.