The Harvest Formal

With the start of every school year comes a fall dance. This first dance has often felt awkward for Barstow students. Most schools call this dance their homecoming dance, which is coordinated with a homecoming football game, and so it all goes together nicely. With no football team at Barstow, it’s not quite this simple. It often causes perplexing conversations with students from other schools where Barstow students have to explain that our homecoming is in the winter, and how it actually coordinates with a basketball game instead. However, this year will be different.

Typically, the fall dance is casual and the winter homecoming is formal, but Student Council President Amanda Munsell led a change this year. Barstow will still maintain its long tradition of homecoming in the winter, however the casualness will be flipped. The fall dance was now be formal, and even featured a court, while the homecoming dance will be casual.

“The Harvest Formal” took place on October 5th at Loch Lloyd from 8-11 pm. All upper school grades were welcome. The theme was fall/country/harvest and students were encouraged to dress accordingly. That Friday was also Friday Night Lights and Bites. Friday Night Lights and Bites has become another staple at Barstow for several years now. A variety of food trucks come to Barstow while the soccer team plays under the lights. The aforementioned court for the dance was announced at this game. The court featured only seniors: three boys and three girls. The senior class nominated representatives who were then voted on by the rest of the upper school. At halftime, the court was announced, including the crowning of the first ever Harvest King, Cayden Williams, and Queen, Angela Deng. The Friday Night Lights and Bites soccer game and the Harvest Formal were two great fun and social opportunities for students early in the school year. 

Barstow students now have the best of both worlds. They can now have the formal dance in the fall like the majority of other high schools and can still enjoy the valued tradition of Barstow’s winter homecoming and its festivities. 

The dance was one of the most successful dances in Barstow’s history, per student council president Amanda Munsell. Numbers wise, there were over 125+ attendees and the most freshmen ever. Munsell was proud of the hard work of stuco to promote the dance. She thought the dance brought together the upper school community with the crowning of king and queen, the crowd at the coordinating soccer game, and the support of the student body.