“A long time…hours,” said varsity cheerleader senior Hannah Shaw. “You have to come up with an idea, then go buy all the supplies, then find a time to work on it and then you actually have to go work on it. It’s painful, very painful, but worth it.”

Shaw is explaining the time and effort that goes into making a Homecoming float.  However, she is not the only one feeling the pressure of producing a quality float for this year’s Homecoming parade. A growing number of clubs and sports teams are planning on producing floats this year, and with the parade’s date so close, clubs are down to the wire and are adding their finishing touches.

Floats range in both type and variety. This year the parade is expected to see everything from cut out candies, to castles, to your typical pickup truck and posters. Club members from Distributed Educations Club of America (DECA), Student Advisory Board (SAB), and varsity dance each describe their plans for the float this year.

DECA:“This year we are focusing on getting people to the parade and the float, “said Nika Longe, a DECA officer. “We are hosting a tailgate before the parade at five in hopes to get as many people as possible to come and support the Warriors.”

In addition to hoping to rally support for the parade, DECA is confident their float will be aesthetically pleasing.

“We delegated the float making to junior Matt Babe,” Longe said. “He is really good at spray painting, and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with.”

SAB: SAB’s float focuses on representing the theme of Homecoming this year, Candy Land. They have put hours of work into making props, a pink castle and lots of cardboard candy.

“They are really going all out for the theme this year,” said SAB sponsor Liz Mawhiney. “They have put a lot of time and effort into cutting and painting, hopefully it will pay off.”

Varsity dance team: The varsity dance team will keep it classic this year. They will be in the parade riding in the back of a pickup truck, supporting the Warriors by throwing candy and holding posters.

“We have to learn three dances for this week, make posters and practice formation and sidelines, so we don’t have much time to make a float,” said varsity dance captain, senior Kayla Holmes. “But we want to be involved and this is an easy and fun way to do it.”

These are just three of the many floats that you can see at tonight’s Homecoming parade. Look for floats from varsity, junior varsity and freshman Cheer, the Key Club and the softball team as well. The parade starts at 6 p.m. in the South parking lot of the high school, and is followed by a pep rally in the Main Gym.