It is that time of year when schools around the country will celebrate homecoming and welcome back alumni to celebrate their respective histories. Brainerd High School has a busy week ahead to celebrate the long-standing tradition.

“We try to tell the students that even though it’s a big Brainerd High School event, it is really about welcoming people back to their hometown and so I love having our homecoming festivities around the whole weekend,” said Andrea Rusk, Brainerd High School Principal. “We have just a lot of fun events.”

Brainerd High School celebrates homecoming in a big way.

“We have a lot of sporting events taking place, all of the dress up days. I know a lot of classes might be doing individual activities,” explained Hannah Paysse, the Coronation Committee Chair.

“We have soccer tonight at home. We have a “Fill the Hill” tennis, girls tennis hosting at home tonight,” added Rusk.

There will also be a “Lunch Jam” outdoor lunch for the students, a dance, and a pep fest on Friday. The week will conclude with a homecoming parade on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. followed by the football game.

“We’ll be playing the Becker Bulldogs so the theme this year, which is created by our student council members, was “the dog days are over,” and so the t-shirts, the signs, and the general theme of the week is “the dog days are over,” explained Rusk.

Today, as a kickoff for homecoming week, the high school held their coronation where Abby Pelowski and Brett Hague were crowned king and queen.

“I was definitely surprised. All the girls on court are really good people so it was definitely an honor,” said Pelowski.

“I’m excited. It should be a fun week,” added Hague.

Though homecoming is a high school tradition, it really is an event for the whole community.  

“I feel like it brings an atmosphere of school spirit to the school – something that everyone can commonly unite in and be a part of,” said Paysse.

“It’s pretty special to see thousands of people come from our community. From little babies and toddlers get dressed up in the Warrior gear to grandpas and grandmas that come and support our Warrior football team,” said Rusk. “But they also just support our schools, so I think that’s really special.”

Brainerd Senior High School is looking forward to an exciting homecoming week, and hopefully a win against the Bulldogs on Saturday.

The Brainerd Warriors football team will face off against Becker at 2:00 p.m. this Saturday at Don Adamson Field.

By — Rachel Johnson

Lakeland News Lead Reporter