Basalt students organize homecoming parade to promote schools, community

Basalt students collaborated with the town of Basalt to host a homecoming parade on Midland Avenue on Friday, Oct. 18. The procession will halt ongoing construction on Basalt’s main thoroughfare.

The student-organized homecoming is the only parade of the year in Basalt. School clubs and sports teams will float down the avenue starting at 2:15 p.m. before the No. 1 district-ranked Basalt High School football team takes on Moffat County at home that evening.

Elias Schendler, president of the high school parade committee, said the event will be a good opportunity to unite the schools, the community, and celebrate their uniqueness.

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“I think it’s just a great thing that brings a community together and shows how diverse we are,” he said. 

He expects to see at least 14 floats representing student groups, from the fall sports teams, to Voces Latinas, to homecoming royalty. The middle school band will kick off the parade, he said. 

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He took charge of the event because of the deep connection he had with the parade growing up. 

“Each year in elementary and middle school, I could not wait to go to the parade and watch all the high schoolers and get a ton of candy,” he said. “It made me excited for high school. It made me feel like I was part of a community that cared about me and cared about each other and liked to have fun.”

The parade provides kids with role models and introduces them to things they might be interested in, as kids take the same path up through the Basalt school system, Schendler said.

“When you’re a younger kid, you don’t know what you’re into,” he said. “And even just a simple parade could help with that.”

The high school parade committee worked with the town to put a pause on Midland Avenue construction. Basalt Assistant Planning Director James Lindt said they halted construction because the parade is Basalt tradition.

“The parade is part of the fabric of the community and the character,” he said. “And it’s an important piece of the community, so it just seemed appropriate to work through and coordinate to accommodate it.”

Schendler said the town was receptive to their request to use the avenue.

“Half of the town’s construction is done, and we’ll be going through that part,” he said. “It’ll show kids and community members, ‘Hey, this is what the town’s been working on,’ and it’s great.”

Anna Feiss, a member of the school accountability committee for Basalt Elementary School, which helps oversee the school’s leadership, said most of the high school students will be involved, either building or riding on floats, walking in the parade, or supporting from the side. Middle and elementary school students will also dress up and participate. 

Without any other parades, Feiss thinks it a crucial event for the community. 

“We’re just really trying to spread the love,” she said. “And celebrate all of the amazing things that are happening in the Basalt schools.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.