By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the change in date for Del Rio’s sub-varsity football games.
After an outpouring of anger and opposition on social media, the local public school district has reversed a decision on the fate of this year’s homecoming parade.
Wednesday’s rains forced the San Felipe Del Rio CISD to issue a press release stating that this year’s homecoming pep rally and bonfire would be rescheduled to Wednesday, Nov. 1, and would be folded into a pep rally ahead of the Thursday, Nov. 2 game against rival Eagle Pass.
“The Del Rio High School community, along with its students, parents, and supporters, eagerly anticipated the Del Rio High School Homecoming 2023 Parade, Community Pep Rally, and Bonfire. However, due to today’s inclement weather and with the utmost concern for the safety of our students and participants, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our homecoming parade and postpone the burning of the Bonfire,” the school district’s release said.
The announcement of the cancellation of the parade was met with anger and a plea to reconsider from those who commented on the press release’s posting on the school district’s official Facebook page.
Some of the comments were as follows:
“Why not reschedule the parade too? Kids were looking forward to it.”
“Why cancel the parade and not just postpone it also? Everyone participating put so much effort, work, and time into their floats. Not to mention funds from their own pockets! This is ridiculous and so sad! So easy to say “just cancel” when its (sic) not your time being wasted. And what about the kids?! Especially the seniors, this is their LAST HOMECOMING….why take that from them when it can easily be postponed. So unfair to everyone!!”
“Sad to see parade will not be postponed. Our community looks forward for this parade. These are activities that our children and community put lots of effort into. I know weather should be cooler for next week but I think we would still enjoy the parade in the cooler weather, we enjoy the Christmas parade in cold weather.”
“Wow. We worked so hard on our float. All our time and money just to cancel the parade. Not even to reschedule.”
The school district appeared to have listened to the public and released an addendum to the press release shortly before 4:30 p.m. The newest release announced the parade would be part of the rescheduled homecoming events.
“In continuation of our commitment to providing a memorable and safe Homecoming experience for the Del Rio High School community, we are pleased to share additional information about the rescheduled Homecoming 2023 Parade. The Del Rio High School Homecoming 2023 Parade, originally scheduled for October 25, 2023, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 5:30 PM. This vibrant and much-anticipated parade will bring together our students, families, and supporters to celebrate our school spirit and community pride,” the newest press release stated.
The parade route will remain the same – beginning at the intersection of North Main and 15th streets and proceeding north to Early College High School. The remaining homecoming events will follow afterwards, beginning at 7 p.m. at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
The school district also announced the Rams sub-varsity football teams would also reschedule their games next week. Instead of playing Wednesday, as originally schedule, the teams will play Friday, Nov. 3 at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium. Freshmen will play at 5 p.m. and junior varsity will play at 7 p.m. The change is to allow the teams, their parents and supporters to take part in the rescheduled homecoming activities.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
