Saratoga News

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Parent Julie Black deals blackjack to seniors (left to right) Victoria Yang, Bobby Lathanh, and Nancy Chiang in the 'Magic Queen' riverboat casino.

Grad Rite

Parents' gift to grads: a wonderland of activities and fun

By John Pancharian

When Alice fell down that rabbit hole, she might just as easily have come up at Saratoga High School. Weeks of work by dedicated parents came together June 11 and transformed the quad and gym into a one-night wonderland for the class of 1998's Grad Nite, one intended both to delight students and keep them out of the bottle and off the streets.

Entering through a gate of eight-foot cards stacked into a card-house archway, students ran a maze before emerging in the quad. There they zipped around the concrete on inline skates, past shimmying groups of dancing classmates. Colored lights flashed through the cool night air and rippled over leaves of oak trees overhanging the DJ's stage.

An enormous white rabbit with a glittering red bow tie towered over skaters, while a 10-foot white-haired wizard draped in blue and gold satin stood like a silent sentry over the jubilation below.

"We tried to scale it back some this year," parent volunteer Pam Dunnett said of the enormous, $20,000-plus party. An idea born in Southern California that has caught on nationwide, Grad Nites not only provide entertainment for graduating seniors, but serve as a huge, safe playpen on a night parents fear their kids might otherwise find ill-advised fun.

All seniors who attend must check in by 9 p.m. and are not allowed to leave until the party breaks up the next morning. Reporters and other ne'er-do-wells not sporting the photo-i.d. badges passed out to students found themselves periodically approached by concerned volunteers. There was absolutely no drunkenness allowed, none in evidence and almost all 272 graduating seniors present at the festivities.

Though some might say this all amounts to a huge bribe by parents to get their sons and daughters to be good on graduation, when raising them right ought to do the trick, Dunnett didn't see it that way. "It's true some kids don't need this kind of thing," she said. "We do raise them to be safe, but I think in celebration things happen that normally wouldn't happen."

Volunteer chairwoman Mary Kay Brightenbach also thought the focus was more on what parents were doing for their kids, not what they were keeping them from doing. "I think this is just a nice gift parents give to their children," she said.

"Nice," seemed a significant understatement as grads gleefully lept over barriers in the giant, inflatable obstacle course, or crooned hits from Grease in the karaoke lounge. Numerous local businesses donated prizes for the free raffle and for students' gambling winnings.

Yep, gambling. Beyond the 15-foot riverboat-casino facade, complete with paddle wheel and gangplank, students played for chips they could cash in for prizes donated by the businesses. Parent dealers in black and white suits and hats tossed out cards and shuffled chips for intent young blackjack players, high rollers at the craps table and those taking a spin at the roulette wheel.

Partying grads gave the event good reviews.

"It's way better than I expected," grad Katie McMahon said while waiting for a turn with the caricature artist.

"They spent a lot of time on this; it's impressive," her friend Chris Tucker agreed. Both said they appreciated all the effort by parents.

[ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ]