An Old-Fashioned Huntington Homecoming on Tap

By Jim Hoops

A week filled with electricity will culminate on Saturday as Huntington High School celebrates its annual Homecoming Day festivities this week. The activities included a Thursday night student dance, Friday afternoon pep rally and evening float building and a noon parade on Saturday followed by an afternoon football game.

Alumni stretching back decades are expected to turnout along the parade route and attend the Blue Devil gridiron game against visiting Miller Place. Interest has been building for the past two weeks as graduates and current students put their weekend plans in motion.

Homecoming always elicits excitement from the whole community. The Class of 1994 is holding a 20th anniversary reunion this weekend and many members will be at the football game.

Students will be busy Friday night, putting the finishing touches on their class floats from 6 p.m. until midnight.

The parade will kick-off on Saturday at 12 p.m. and proceed through the heart of Huntington Village, down Main Street to New York Avenue and then south to the Big H Shopping Center and up Holdsworth Drive to the high school.

Students, parents and faculty members from every building in the district will be marching in the parade. Huntington Foundation members will be there, too, promoting public education.

A decades-long tradition will continue as the parade will include four colorful class floats, the Blue Devil marching band, cars ferrying members of the Royal Court, trucks and tractors filled with hundreds of students and untold numbers of marchers, including Principal Dr. Carmela Leonardi, Superintendent James W. Polansky, members of the Huntington School Board and the district’s administrative corps, individual school PTAs and teachers from across the district. The class floats will later be put on display adjacent to the football field following the parade.

“This is literally one of my favorite weekends of the year,” Mr. Polansky said. “The spirit at Huntington High School and throughout the district is infectious. Administrators, staff and PTA members from all schools have done an outstanding job in recent years, coordinating efforts and making Homecoming festivities a district-wide celebration. The same is on tap for this year.

The afternoon varsity football game pits the rugged Blue Devils against tough Miller Place. Halftime activities will include the crowning of the homecoming king and queen, performances by the Blue Devil marching band and the Highsteppers, the school’s competitive dance team and an announcement of the winning class float entry.

No tickets are required for the football game. Admission is free. The Huntington Booster Club will be on hand selling food, refreshments and an assortment of Blue Devil apparel items throughout the game.

Now in his fourth year as superintendent, Mr. Polansky has made it a point to encourage the entire school community to join in Homecoming Day festivities. Participation has steadily increased over the past three years, which hundreds of elementary school children and parents now attending the parade and football game.

Last year’s Homecoming Day game and halftime entertainment drew an estimated crowd of more than 1,700. Seniors Ben Kocis and Cynthia Gowani were crowned Homecoming king and queen, respectively. A similar throng is expected this weekend at Huntington High School.

“We are hoping for all-inclusive parade participation and that students and families from all district schools stay to watch a young and exciting football squad take on Miller Place,” Mr. Polansky said.

Following the game, alumni are expected to head straight to local restaurants and pubs throughout the village for individual and group reunions and get-togethers, catching up on personal news and reminiscing about high school.