Parade highlights Homecoming Week activities

Leading the band is John Dubberke as the parade starts.

Iris Hayslett, Editor

The colorful parade of floats, the crowning of queen Alison Wheeler at the bonfire and the couples dressed in picture-perfect attire at the dance were the highlights of Homecoming Week.

The parade from the fairgrounds on Oct. 1 was lead with the homecoming court riding in convertibles. Right behind them was the football team dressed in red and white riding on a fire truck. People from all over the upper west end of Davenport came to watch the parade.  The swim team took best float overall with the soccer team right behind.  

“The parade was something different and fun,” biology teacher Heather Cress said. It got everybody pumped and excited for the dance and the big game.

The bonfire was a blast with several hundred teachers, students, parents showing their school spirit on the soccer field. The emcees– world language teachers Stephanie Hansen and Barb Lipnick–cracked some jokes, and the dance team and the cheer team performed.

After Alison Wheeler was crowned queen by last year’s queen Hannah Bellman, Wheeler got to toss a whipped cream pie at three teachers. Heather Cress, Christine Gray and Jane Kroening ended up with pie in their faces as a fundraiser for the IJAG class.

Then the crowd gathered around and the drumline played as the queen lit the flame as everyone cheered and got pumped  for the game on Oct. 2 against the Dubuque Senior Rams.

At the pep assembly on Friday, coach Justin Peters got everyone pumped as the football team entered, running through a banner that read “BEAT THE RAMS.”  The homecoming game was stopped with West trailing 52-13 after a player from Dubuque broke his leg.

On Saturday, Oct.3, students headed to the iWireless center in Moline for an evening of dancing to a DJ. More tickets were sold this year than last year, said Student Senate adviser Katherine Searle. She said participation in events like dodgeball, and powderpuff was down, but the lip sync battle was a major success.