Homecoming is an exciting time for many students, and this year MCHS has created new traditions for students to look forward to.

This year’s spirit days at MCHS are based on trends from social media apps such as TikTok. Homecoming week starts out with Adam Sandler day, based on the hit comedy actor. Then on Tuesday it’s Minion day, and Wednesday is Warrior Wednesday, as usual. Thursday winds down the week with White Lies day and for the Homecoming football game and spirit day on Friday, the theme is camo. 

“I am absolutely thrilled with this year’s spirit days. We are doing things that are super unique,” said senior Rayaan Ahmed. 

Old and new traditions alike help to bring the MCHS community together such as paint the town and the Homecoming parade. Paint the town is an event where clubs and organizations get designated a local business to paint in order to promote their club. Clubs meet after school on green street to paint their designs and bond with members of the community. 

“The purpose, or goal perhaps, is to connect our amazing clubs and organizations with local businesses to highlight the “Community” in McHenry Community High School,” Ahmed said “ It is so important for us to engage in things that allow MCHS to give back to the community, or in this case, work with the community.”

Another familiar tradition is the Homecoming parade. This year’s parade will be held on Sunday, Oct. 2. Decorating will start at 10:00 a.m. in the Freshman Campus parking lot. The parade line up starts at 12:15 p.m., and the kick off is at 1:00 p.m. It will start at the Freshman Campus, continuing through Green St. and will end at the Veterans’ Memorial Park where a rally and Homecoming coronation will take place. 

The Homecoming parade this year is a little different compared to previous years, as MCHS will follow the old route from several years ago. It was known to be a very notable event that brought the community together, and the hope is that reviving the tradition will bring back that spark.

The Powder Puff game will be on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 6:00 p.m. The game will last around 2 hours with a 20 minute halftime. Powder Puff is going to be similar to last year, where seniors play against the junior class. Last year, MCHS had a “just for fun” team and a competitive team however, this year MCHS will have four teams of seniors that will rotate. 

The Homecoming football game, MCHS vs. Crystal Lake South, will be at McCracken at 7:00 p.m. on Oct 7. “This game is very important because we need to win out the rest of the season to make the playoffs.” said senior Dominick Caruso, “The team and I are really excited because we know this is a winnable game and as seniors, our last Homecoming game.” 

On Saturday, Oct. 8, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., the Homecoming dance will be held in the Upper Campus Main Gym. This year, the theme is Enchanted Forest, which was voted on by the student council. 

“It’s not super basic and I think a lot of fun decor can be done with it. I have some friends on the student council and I’m excited to see what they all have in store,” said senior Kiera Loewe. 

Due to Covid-19 districts, last year’s Homecoming took place outside. Although Homecoming might never be the same after Covid-19, this year MCHS hopes to bring back a sense of normalcy to this annual tradition.