Photos: Crowds gather for West Rowan High’s drive-by celebration for seniors
Published 12:05 am Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Photo submitted - Folks associated with West Rowan High School or with 2020 graduates in their family helped plan a parade Friday evening near the school. There were crowds of people and cars parked along the roadside.
Photo submitted - Crowds of people lined streets near West Rowan High School on Friday to watch a parade of graduates and offer their cheers.
Photo submitted - Cars and people line the sides of streets for the parade.
Large crowds of people gathered Friday evening on the roadsides near West Rowan High School to honor this year’s graduating class.
Attendees parked on the roadside and mostly offered their well wishes from close by. With no date set for when an in-person graduate might occur, community members like those at West have been organizing drive-by celebrations to celebrate newly minted graduates.
The event occurred after the governor’s Phase Two reopening started at 5 p.m. Friday.
Organizers said planning started about a month ago, with parents ironing out details of the idea.
There was a planning committee, with no Rowan-Salisbury Schools officials allowed. Churches sponsored grab-and-go dinners. The school’s booster club donated to help with the purchase of T-shirts and local law enforcement provided an escort and traffic control.
There were balloons, signs and plenty of noise from onlookers across a 4-mile route near West Rowan High School. Storms held off from the parade. Graduates said it made up somewhat for missing an in-person graduation, which Rowan-Salisbury Schools says it still plans to hold at some point.
