By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
This fall, high schools throughout the country will carry on that age-old tradition of hosting homecoming festivities.
For students at Otsego High School, that annual opportunity to put their school spirit on full display will come during the week of Sept. 9.
And one of the highlights of that week—the homecoming parade prior to the home football game against visiting Vicksburg on Friday, Sept. 13—has some changes in store.
More accurately, the route for the parade will be slightly different this year compared to previous years.
Staging for the parade will begin at 5 p.m., with high school class floats and royalty gathering at/in front of Otsego City Hall. All other floats will line up along East Orleans Street.
All parade participants are to be lined up by 5:30 p.m., with the parade starting at 5:45 p.m.
This year’s parade will continue down the following route: from East Orleans it will proceed south on Farmer Street before heading west on Morrell Street and then south on Conference Street. The parade will end in the parking lot between Otsego High School and Otsego Middle School.
Parade participants are reminded to follow these safety rules:
- All participants should remain on the floats and sidewalk and not in the street. Anyone walking will need to be last in the parade.
- Once floats are parked and riders get on a float, all riders must remain on the floats.
- All floats need adults walking alongside to keep spectators from getting too close to floats.
- Float monitors need to make sure that any students throwing candy have the ability to throw the candy far enough from the float so that no spectators approach vehicles to gather candy. Do not allow candy to be handed to spectators.
- All participants must have a background check on file with the district.
- Nobody should ride on floats during the arrival trip to the parade line-up. Riders should get on the float once it is in line up.
- All riders on any kind of float must keep their entire body—including legs and feet—on the float at all times during the parade.
- All riders middle school age or younger need to remain seated on their floats. No standing.
- Floats with riders younger than middle school age need to have adult monitors walk alongside the float during the parade.
- Nobody may get off a float or board a float once the parade starts.
- Riders or decorations may not block the driver’s view.
