Big honkin’ car parade for grads on Saturday
It’s time to cheer your senior. Just don’t get out of the car.
Graduates of the Peninsula School District’s two high schools will get a vehicular valedictory on Saturday, with a parade of cars at Tacoma Narrow Airport.
Student leaders helped develop the parade plan as a way to recognize seniors while keeping to state guidelines for social distancing. Parents and friends will form two lines of cars while seniors drive their own cars down the middle, greeted by honks and cheers.
“We are excited to be able to honor our seniors in a creative way during this difficult time,” wrote Lori Glover, a school board member, in a district news release. “There is so much love for the class of 2020, and heartbreak for all they have missed this spring. While this doesn’t replace the graduation they have worked so hard for, it gives our families and community an opportunity to celebrate our seniors in person.”
Each graduate’s name will be announced during the parade, and the event will be live-streamed at psd401.net/graduation for those who cannot attend. Many of the seniors will decorate their cars.
Parades at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Peninsula High School’s parade starts at 10 a.m., and Gig Harbor High School’s at 1 p.m. Families and guests should arrive at the airport between 9 and 9:50 a.m. for Peninsula and 12 and 12:50 p.m. for Gig Harbor.
Families will be instructed to park in one of two rows along the parade route in the airport near the buildings, away from the runway. Airport operations will continue and all guests are asked to remain in or near their cars for the duration of the parade. Graduate families have priority in the airport viewing area.
Graduates will parade to the airport from Lighthouse Christian School on Point Fosdick Drive, so people may view the parade from the shoulder of 26th Street north of the airport, or Stone Road between 26th and Pt. Fosdick. After the parade, the district has asked guests on the airport property to wait for all graduates to leave and then follow instructions from people directing traffic out of the airport.
Students and the district are still working on a more formal graduation ceremony, tentatively set for July 25 at Roy Anderson Field next to Peninsula High School. That ceremony will feature students — socially distanced at six feet apart — but no parents. Graduates will receive their diplomas after a traditional walk across the stage in cap and gown.
Whether that ceremony takes place will depend upon whether Pierce County has reached Phase 4 in the state’s pandemic recovery plan by then.
In its announcement this week, the district offered thanks to those who helped put the airport parade together, including the Tacoma Narrows Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration, Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier, Pierce County Council Member Derek Young, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Gig Harbor Cruisers, KGHP-FM, and Lighthouse.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 12:00 AM.