Batavia tries nighttime homecoming march

Batavia High School is trying something different for its homecoming parade Thursday night.

Namely, Thursday. And night.

The parade, which is usually on a Friday afternoon after school lets out, will step off at 6:30 p.m. the night before.

Homecoming organizers think that will let more working people see the parade, including parents of kids in the high school and middle school marching bands, as well as elementary school children, who would normally be in school during the parade.

The seed of the experiment came a few years ago, when the Batavia football team played in the state finals. People commented that the caravan of supporters driving downstate to cheer the team was kind of like a parade.

"We thought, 'It would really be nice to have a parade where the entire community can be involved,'" said Herman Kussro, the adviser for the student council. The council is in charge of homecoming.

Last year's homecoming organizers didn't have enough time to schedule the change. Plus, the traditional route down Wilson Street east to River Street had to be changed, because of Wilson Street bridge construction. The parade wended its way around the near west side instead, staying west of Route 31.

This year, it's back to the old route. The same groups _ marching band, clubs, sports teams, cheerleaders _ will participate as usual. And Class of 1958 alumni, too.

"But if it goes over well then what we will do is open it up to the community" the next time, Kussro said.

The homecoming organizers will review how it went in a debriefing session next week, he said. One area that may need to be addressed is sunset. It's around 6:45 p.m. If next year's homecoming is in October, the time may be moved up.

"Or make it an electric light homecoming parade," Kussro said. "It might be an interesting concept."