Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School’s 2022 grad class is getting ready to celebrate June 18.
PSO’s Dry Grad Committee chair Jim Carter said the celebrations will follow the cap-and-gown graduation ceremony a day earlier at the South Cariboo Rec Centre.
The dry grad and prom will begin with a vehicle parade through town at 2:30 p.m. Close to 100 grads will gather behind Save-On-Foods and drive down Birch Avenue, along Fifth Street and down Cedar Avenue to Centennial Park, where there will be a friends-and-family mixer from 3:30-5 p.m. for group photos and socializing.
“The idea of a dry grad is to give students an alternative to going out and partying in the bush with alcohol,” Carter said.
“We’re still looking for exact clarification on what vehicles they’re allowed to drive. I understand in the past there’s been a wide assortment of farm vehicles, hot rods, and who knows what else. The vehicle does have to be street legal and licensed.”
At 6 p.m. the grads will leave Centennial Park and head back to the high school for a range of activities, including a full-scale dinner and dance with a casino theme, complete with poker, blackjack, and roulette tables. The tables and pit bosses are being provided by Vancouver Party Works while the dealers are made up of parent volunteers.
“Their pit bosses will give us a quick tutorial and I’m told you don’t even know how to play poker in order to learn how to deal it,” Carter said.
Laser tag and virtual reality video games will also be provided by Quesnel’s MVP Gamezone. Carter said they’re still looking for props to use as terrain for the laser tag and welcomes donations of stuffed animals and targets that could be placed out on the field. There will be several prize draws throughout the night for the grads.
Carter said a request for a fireworks permit has been rejected but they may reapply.
The grads have already raised $30,000 which should make for a “pretty good party,” Carter said. “It’s been great working with the group of parents and students that have been helping out all the way along.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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