Charles City enjoys Homecoming events

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Rain or shine, nothing could bring down the school spirit in Charles City as students enjoyed the climax of this week’s Homecoming festivities.

Classes got out early on Friday afternoon so the high school students could gather in the Comet Gym for the Homecoming pep rally.

After introducing the football team, each class competed to put points on the board in a variety of games and contests to determine who had the most school spirit.

In between rounds of relay races and tug-of-war, two lucky members of the staff, Principal Jeromiah Bliss and Kady Mead, were randomly selected to get pied in the face by Xander Graeser and Kaden Littleton.

The pep rally also featured the coronation of this year’s Homecoming royalty. Last year’s king and queen, Zach Chambers and Harper McInroy, were there to present their crowns to Jameson Mayhew and Madison Lensing as the new Homecoming King and Queen.

In spite of some light rain in the afternoon, the sprinkles stopped falling as the students got ready for the Homecoming Parade. The Charles City community gathered on Main Street to support the line-up of students making their way across downtown in anticipation of the football team’s big game against the Mason City Riverhawks.

Before the game, the booster club got everyone hyped up with a pre-game party. With inflatables, music, and games, the event was a good way to get more of the students and community involved in the Homecoming festivities.

“We’re trying to get the younger kids as excited about Homecoming as the high schoolers are,” said Activities Director Dana Sullivan.

Organized by the booster club, the pre-game party was a collaborative effort. Tad Barry provided DJing services, Valero employees worked the concessions and Hy-Vee served up free meals to the first 1,000 people.

“There’s no way one group of people could get all this done,” said Sullivan.

Though still a bit cloudy and damp from the afternoon precipitation, the weather didn’t keep the fans away. The stands were filled as the Comets took the field, with the cool temps providing a great football watching environment.

“It wouldn’t be Homecoming if it didn’t rain a little bit,” said Sullivan.