Each year, various school programs spend hours bedazzling floats for the Homecoming parade, hoping to win first place and a spirit stick. At this year’s parade Sept. 18, FCCLA, the culinary team, won the float contest.
“I’m a very competitive person, so I was in it to win it!” culinary instructor Tracey Davis said. “I was still at Hanna Springs with the float when I got the text that we had won! Not being able to be there to see the reaction of the kids was a bummer, but seeing their reaction when I made it back to the pep rally was amazing!”
The theme of the culinary float was “The Greatest Show in the Kitchen.”
“It was only fitting that we make it about cooking,” Davis said. “As soon as we learned about the theme, the FCCLA students formed the Homecoming Float Committee to come up with a basic design.”
Any student in culinary was welcome to help with the float, and those students worked every day during and after school on decorating.
“FCCLA is the culinary organization for students that want to compete and help with activities outside of regular school hours,” Davis said. “Some of the FCCLA members along with any other culinary student that wanted to help could help.”
Jack Jerome Land Management donated the trailer for the culinary float, and Texas Power Washing LLC volunteered to drive it.
“It’s important for the community to get involved in the homecoming parade because it’s something special to this town,” junior Natalie Braudt said. “Half of Lampasas was there just for that parade.”
Culinary wanted to make sure their float hit all the key points of The Greatest Showman movie, which was the theme of the Homecoming pep rally.
“For the popcorn bucket and ticket booth we used cooling racks in the kitchen, wrapped them in cardboard then taped paint to each side to paint later,” junior Dean Hannibal said. “Originally we were going to have somebody inside the ticket booth but later decided against it,”
Everyone on the float dressed according to theme.
“My favorite thing about the float overall had to be the costumes everyone brought,” Hannibal said. “They were all so fitting and vibrant.”
Sophomore Neveah Lee-Clarkston said that the credit for the Culinary float lies with each person who was involved, no matter what they did to contribute or how much time they put into it.
“Everyone who was on the float, even if they didn’t stay after school, they worked super hard in order to get the spirit stick,” Lee-Clarkston said. “This wasn’t a one person effort. It was everyone in FCCLA. My favorite part of the float wasn’t actually on the float, it was everyone coming together to participate in it.”
Homecoming is a time for everyone in the town to unite. It’s one big reunion for those who have moved away from Lampasas as well, and the parade displays that togetherness and expresses the importance of community.
“I moved to Lampasas from a large city about seven years ago,” Davis said. “The parades are smaller here, but there is more heart in them. The way the community comes together to support the youth is moving. It is important for the community to support the youth and just as important for the youth to appreciate the community involvement. Entering a float in the parade seems to be a way of spotlighting the different organizational floats while thanking the parade goers for their support. It’s a win-win!”
Davis said seeing how excited the students were to be recognized for winning made all the work worth it.
“FCCLA participated in the parade last year for the first time and we threw a float together in a couple of days,” she said. “This year, we had a few more students assisting in the creation, and it paid off. Next year is still undecided. Only time will tell.”
