As fall begins, high school students look forward to attending the annual Homecoming dance and the festivities along with it. In addition to students attending their own Homecomings, a handful attend more than one. From school to school, homecoming looks different, with various traditions and plans.
Sophomore Hannah Larson attended Breck High School’s Homecoming. Before attending the dance, Larson met with a group of her friends to do her makeup and hair. Additionally, Larson had dinner catered and took pictures at a friend’s house before the dance. Although Larson enjoyed seeing Homecoming from a different perspective, she ultimately enjoyed BSM’s Homecoming more. “I would say their homecoming is a lot smaller and not as hype. Not a lot of people were dancing, most people were just sitting down,” Larson said.
Senior Elliot Schultz took part in Minneapolis SouthWest’s Homecoming dance where she enjoyed a different scene from Benilde-St. Margaret’s Homecoming. Schultz noticed the biggest difference between Minneapolis SouthWest’s and Benilde-St. Margaret’s Homecoming tradition was her dinner plans. Schultz noted the similarity between both dances was the freedom to leave the dance at any time throughout the night. “I went to dinner just with my date, and we didn’t really go on a group. But once we got to the dance itself, we met up with friends,” Schultz said.
Senior Lucia Hoyt attended Edina High School’s Homecoming dance. Hoyt enjoyed dinner at Paul’s Supper Club in Edina, followed by photos taken at Centennial Lakes Park. When attending the dance, Hoyt noted the most drastic difference was the overall atmosphere Edina HS presented. “Edina did their Homecoming in their big gym, and BSM hosted their dance in their smaller one, and Edina teachers served drinks to students where there wasn’t anything like that at Benilde,” Hoyt said.
Bridget Wickner, along with her date, enjoyed Minnetonka’s dance and festivities before. Before attending Minnetonka High School’s dance, Wickner got ready at home, took photos at Nuremberg Gardens, and had dinner in Eden Prairie. Wickner compared her Minnetonka experience to her past dances at BSM, the biggest comparing factor being the difference in school population. “The Minnetonka homecoming, you could leave whenever you wanted, and the line to get in took half an hour, and they had two gyms full to the room with people. It was the biggest homecoming I’ve ever seen,” Wickner said.
Ultimately, many students prefer BSM’s Homecoming dance and the festivities before, but some also enjoy a larger atmosphere seen at various high schools in the metropolitan area.