Every year before homecoming, De Soto High School hosts a parade a couple days before the semiformal dance. During the parade, the homecoming court ride in convertibles and the DHS marching band plays. Afterward, the homecoming king and queens are introduced and grade levels compete in a game of Powder Puff on the football field. This year, the parade and pep rally was held on Sept. 12 and was a successful start for homecoming week.

A lot of preparation goes into making the parade organized and entertaining for the people of De Soto. According to the parade committee in Student Council, the hard work is all worth it in the end.

“It [homecoming parade] may be a little stressful when it comes to planning the event, but overall it is worth it to see De Soto come together and cheer on the parade we worked so hard on,” said junior StuCo representative Chase Culver.

The role of the parade committee is to find convertibles and trailers for the homecoming court to ride on during the event. Usually there are four different class floats for each grade level but this year—due to limited time—StuCo only provided a Pep Club float and a float for the underclassmen homecoming candidates.

“This year, we only had a senior class float and a pep club float … that is because we [StuCo] had a lot of difficulty finding trucks and trailers,” StuCo sponsor Lori Hughes said. “I think it turned out really well and the pep club float provided some unity between classes.”

According to StuCo and Pep Club sponsor Katherine Meserko, anyone can be in Pep Club and anyone could be on the float. As long as the students wore DHS spirit wear and had a positive attitude, they were welcomed.

After the parade, there is always a pep rally held at the football field where students and parents meet to watch the introduction of senior homecoming candidates and the Powder Puff games.

“The parade is just a really fun way to start of homecoming week,” Culver said. “It gets the whole school involved, and it’s an enthusiastic environment that I am happy to be a part of.”

According to junior Powder Puff player Lamyah Ricks, the friendly competition between grade levels is a good bonding experience for the Powder Puff players and a fun way to get the football boys a chance to coach.

The homecoming parade and pep rally provides students with endless school spirit as well as 50 Class Cup points. This event also sets up the homecoming dance being held at DHS this Saturday on Sept. 14. from 8 to 11 p.m.