High school seniors across the country are doing all they can to make the best of a limited graduation ceremony during COVID-19. With large ceremonies suspended in Minnesota until further notice, Crookston is doing what it can to celebrate its seniors.
The Crookston senior class will stop at the high school on Friday morning to pick up yearbooks and awards, and also get their pictures taken. The seniors will then return to the high school parking lot at 12:45 p.m. on Friday for a Class of 2020 Graduation Parade, which will take a long path all throughout Crookston. Senior parent Melanie Lessard helped organize the event over the last few weeks.
“(The seniors) deserve a parade or procession of some sort,” Lessard said. “They earned it. Come July, some of the kids may be gone. So, why not try and do something now so we can incorporate all of the seniors? Today is their graduation day, so why not have a parade or procession to celebrate their successes?”
Crookston High School is still hoping to have an in-person graduation ceremony on July 25, depending on what the state’s guidelines are at that time. Lessard said Friday’s parade will start at the high school, and hit all of the main roads in town.
“We’ll be going onto University Avenue to Main Street, crossing the bridge (by the fire department) and heading back up North Broadway,” Lessard explained, “going up North Broadway to Casey’s, and then taking Fisher Avenue to Barrette St., then going around by the Villa St. Vincent’s. I have contacted them, and hopefully they’ll have their residents outside or at the windows. Then, we’ll go back up Central, back up North Broadway and end at the high school.”
The parade starts at 1 p.m., but there will be a group areal shot of the seniors taken at the school beforehand. Lassard wants the senior class to have fun with the event, but also stresses safety.
“There is absolutely no riding in the back of a vehicle, no trailers, no sitting on the back of a convertible, nothing like that,” Lassard said. “You must be in your seat for this celebration.”
Parade participants are asked to obey traffic laws, like stopping at stop signs, traffic lights, stopping for pedestrians and maintaining a safe speed. Participants are also asked not to throw anything from their vehicles. The parade will be led by the Crookston Fire Department, followed by the Crookston Classic Cruisers and then the senior students, with ambulances and law enforcement vehicles bringing up the rear.
Seniors are asked to wear their cap and gown for the parade, and are encouraged to decorate their vehicles as well. Those in town are invited to step outside their home or business and wave to the graduates. Lassard compliments the Class of 2020 for being flexible and resilient during a difficult time.
“These kids were born around the time of 9/11 and now this,” she said. “These kids are going to be leaders and they’ll be so successful in their lives, because of what they’ve already gone through.”
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