Homecoming starts next week with theme days, a parade, the game and the Homecoming dance, sponsored by Student Council.

The Homecoming parade will be on Wednesday Oct. 3 at 6 p.m., and clubs and teams are invited to walk in the parade from campus to Gupton Stadium, down Park Street.

A big change this year is the Homecoming dance will be on the same night as the football game against Leander High School on Oct 5. The dress code is also more casual, encouraging students to come to the dance in their game day attire from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.  

“I want everyone to be able to show up, even though it’s a little later,” senior StuCo president Yazan Al-Sukhni said. “I want this dance to be more open to everyone, even if it’s a big risk to have the dance and the game on the same night. The people who haven’t been able to come in the past will hopefully be able to come this year, and I think it will be a great experience for them.”

The theme of the Homecoming dance this year is “Viva Vista Ridge,” with inspiration from Las Vegas. The event will be $5 cheaper. Students can purchase tickets for $15 in the cafeteria now through Oct. 4 or pay $20 at the door.

“In past years we’ve done retro themes, and this year we brainstormed and thought of what was most successful. The aesthetics are what we focus on a lot when choosing a theme,”  Al-Sukhni said. “Since it’s on a Friday we need to set up the whole dance after school instead of on a Saturday, the decorations needed to be easy to set up but maintain high quality.”

StuCo makes a big portion of the decorations with help from the Art Honor Society and different teachers. The entire dance is planned and coordinated by Student Council.

“Seeing everything come together in the end is really great,” Al-Sukhni said. “Watching people enjoying the effort you put in, and seeing it come to fruition makes me realize that our work goes somewhere. It’s not just one group or one person, we get a lot of help from other clubs to make the dance a reality. I do a small portion of the work, and essentially I’m just one of 50 or more people.”