With magic in the air, Ripon put on their annual homecoming parade and transformed Main Street into the home of classic fairytales. Each grade level created a float, along with FFA, several clubs, the elementary schools, the homecoming court, plus this year’s Grand Marshal, all showing up to display their storybook spirit! With the community cheering from the streets, the entire event felt full of excitement and wonder. The 2024 HOCO parade excellently wrapped up the week of magical dress up days and competitions.
This year’s Grand Marshal, Mrs. Paris, was chosen for her kindness and support toward every student that comes her way. Kicking off the parade, Paris felt honored to have the chance to be a part of the homecoming festivities and witness the happiness the event brings to the community. She states, “It’s a great experience and a fun way to interact with the student body. I loved it!”
The RHS marching band debuted under a new advisor, but their abilities were unshaken and part of that was due to the excellent leadership of senior Chloe Lautenslager as Drum Major. Not only does she command the band in marching, but she also conducts the pep band at sports games. Lautenslager says, “I think the Homecoming parade is a great way to bring the schools and community together in a fun, exciting event. The people who watch get to see the results of the hard work each group put into the parade and it shows how Homecoming isn’t just a high school event, but something for everyone to enjoy.” She was proud of what the marching band showcased during this parade and can’t wait for Ripon to see more of their prowess at the Almond Blossom Parade!
Seniors Nina Benedetti and Calvin Ryans were the first of the homecoming candidates to spread their festive spirit to Ripon’s parade-goers. Benedetti cherished her time as homecoming royalty and will always remember this season. She states, “I will miss all the fun opportunities we got, with being pushed to do dress up days, the float, the dance, everything. It was great.” Ryans’ loved the senior class float, which was Rapunzel themed. 
The seniors put lots of hard work into making the float look magical and loved the experience of seeing all the kids in the audience. Senior class president Claire Morris loved being Rapunzel on the float. She says, “My favorite part was definitely when all the little girls who knew the movie were screaming ‘oh my god, Rapunzel!’ and then I would wave and they would go run happily to their moms. It was just really wholesome and cute. I know I was really excited to watch the parade when I was little, so that was my favorite part.”
The other classes also spent long nights working to make the floats something to look forward to for all Riponites. Freshman Mia Hinrichsen loved being on her class float, dressed up as the iconic princess, Belle. As it’s her first homecoming at RHS, it was an event she’ll never forget. “My favorite part of making this float was the late nights with my team. I think it was a really great bonding activity and it really just brought us all closer together. Every moment that I was doing this I thought, ‘Wow, I’m going to be looking back at this thinking that this was such a great experience’.”
Sophomore class vice president Aiyana Pamplona pulled off the perfect White Rabbit costume, supporting her class with their theme of Alice in Wonderland. Pamplona also worked on her class float, but she found the most joy in the finished product, and getting to show it off to the community. “My favorite part of the homecoming parade was seeing all the little kids’ faces light up when they recognize what kind of float it was and what movie it was from,” states Pamplona.
Other homecoming candidates had positive outlooks on the energy of the crowd, too. Senior Brett Shaw states, “[My favorite part was] waving at all the little kids. It was super cute seeing them all waving and getting excited. It was really cool.” Shaw loved all of the homecoming events he got to participate in, his favorite of those being the lip sync dances. He loved getting to hang out with his friends and perform fun dances in front of the whole school.
RHS clubs played a large part in the magic of the parade and the excitement of the audience, as well. Environmental Club followed behind the line, picking up any trash left behind after the event. Senior Isaiah Green noticed the garbage left behind and decided to better the community by taking the time to pick everything off the streets, while still participating in this huge townwide celebration. Green strongly believes that homecoming is a central event for Riponites and many people look forward to seeing the floats. “I also love to see the club participation,” states Green. “Seeing the Rock and Roll club play live music up there on a float was really cool to see.”
Rock and Roll club, a recently created club under the advisement of Mr. Sikma, has soared in popularity over the past year and continues to play at lots of high school events. Sophomore Chloe Hager plays bass guitar for the club. Since this was the first parade the club has played in, the air was thick with tension but the magic of homecoming stripped that away and revealed the impressive abilities of all of the club members. Hager says, “I really loved playing for the community. I was pretty nervous when we first began but when we started playing more it ended up being really fun. I think the more people you play for, the more fun it’ll be!”
Throughout the parade, Riponites couldn’t wait for the big finish by the 2024 Homecoming King and Queen, Gustavo Nungaray and Megan Parker! Chosen for their undisputable kindness and spirit, they were the perfect pair to display the true magic of Ripon High. Parker says, “The homecoming parade is special to me because I have gone and been in the parade ever since I was little. It brings me so many memories. [I remember] how it felt when I was little being so excited to see the king and queen go by.”
Nungaray shared similar childhood memories. “I used to look up to all the kings in the past and I wanted to be one one day. So now that I get to do that I want to use this to be a good example and role model to all the little kids,” states Nungaray. Memories of being homecoming king and witnessing the wonder in the kids’ eyes as he drove by is something that will stick with him. He would like to thank the entirety of Ripon for their constant support, whether they knew him personally or not.
Hinrichsen says, “The homecoming parade is definitely a great way to meet new people. Even though Ripon is such a small town, there are still so many people that haven’t encountered each other and having almost everyone in our town on that one street is just so amazing.”
The fairytale magic was in the air as the floats went by, proving once again, that dreams do come true at RHS.
