Homecoming spirit is in the air at Oakdale High School as the students celebrate with a week of activities leading up to the Friday night football game against Lathrop High School.
The “California Adventure” theme has served as the backdrop for homecoming week. Students painted the windows of several downtown businesses to reflect their individual class themes. Class floats, various school clubs, homecoming queen, king, princess, and prince candidates, and the OHS marching band will all make an appearance in the tradition-filled OHS Homecoming Parade through downtown Oakdale on Friday, Oct. 7.
The parade starts at 1:45 p.m. and the community is invited to come out to watch and support the Oakdale Mustangs. The parade will start at West J Street by the OHS soccer fields and snake its way toward downtown. From OHS, it will turn left (north) onto Gilbert Avenue, turn right (east) onto West G Street, turn left (north) on First Avenue, right (east) onto F Street, then right (south) on Third Avenue, and finally right (west) onto G Street and will continue on in front of the high school.
Something old is new again this year, as the homecoming dance is making a return after a hiatus of several years and will start right after the varsity game and go until midnight.
“This will be better than the ice-breaker dance – bigger, better, louder, more fun,” said OHS leadership student Nicole Stastny. “More students are excited about homecoming and the leadership team has pushed and publicized it to get back this homecoming tradition.”
To attend the dance, students must have their student I.D. cards. Admission is $3 with an ASB sticker or $5 without the sticker. The dance takes place in the main gym and is open to all OHS students.
Football action takes place in “The Corral” with junior varsity game kickoff at 5 p.m. and varsity game kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Homecoming royalty coronations will be done during the varsity game halftime.