Grad Night Coming Soon, Needs Volunteers

By Zack Bernardin, Staff Writer

Once a year, dozens of parent volunteers descend upon Fountain Valley High School, transforming the gym and surrounding area into something surreal. Hundreds of seniors flock to the site to see the amazing metamorphosis and take part in the endless festivities. On this coming June 16th, the legendary 23rd annual Grad Knight party will be hosted at FVHS after senior graduation, from 8:30 at night to 5:00 in the morning. We interviewed Marissa Demes, president of the Grad Knight committee to get a preview of what you can expect to see at this magnificent event.

What can you expect to see at Grad Knight? “It’s better than Disneyland” says Demes. She tells us that there will be bungee jumping, photo booths, carnival booths, Rock Band, a hypnotist, temporary tattoo artists, and a fortune teller. And that’s just scratching the surface.

There’s a money booth where you stand in a glass box while fans blow dollar bills all around you. “You actually get to go in and grab money, and you get to keep any money you grab.”

“We turn half your gym into a casino; we take the other half and it’s a castle.”

“We take the whole cafeteria and turn it into a laser-tag obstacle course, and the winner gets a prize.”

Demes also tells us that there will be a go-cart course where you can race your friends.

Of course, what would a party be without good-eats? When it comes to the grub, Grad Knight’s got you covered. We are told that there will be an inconceivable amount of food, including pizza, In ‘n Out Burger, smoothies, and mocha coffees “to keep you guys awake,” says Demes. “We’re trying to get a hold of a taco man.”

If you were planning to go out to eat after graduation, then you might want to consider a change of plans. “If you want to go out to dinner, it’s best to go after Baccalaureate.”

Grad Knight is also known for having ridiculously lavish prizes. Ringing up at well over $20,000 worth, prizes include three Wii consoles, a trip to Hawaii, a trip to Cabo, concert tickets to the Warp Tour, four laptops, an iPod touch, a kayak, and multiple cash prizes. Tickets are earned at the various activities and are deposited in raffle boxes under the prize of your choice.

At 3 am, everything shuts down and all the students go to the bowl to be served breakfast. There, raffle tickets will be drawn, and prizes will be picked.

The event is a lockdown, so once you get there, the only way you’ll be leaving is if your parents come and get you. Not that you’ll want to leave, anyway. The committee would also like to ask you not to bring any electronics, including cell phones and mp3 players. They’re too valuable to loose or break, and you’ll be provided all your entertainment needs anyway.

Many seniors are worried that the ticket price is too expensive. Demes asks you to consider this: “”All of our prize packages range from $200 to $1000, and we have over 40 prizes. Someone could win [their ticket money] back, literally.”

FVHS takes pride in it’s Grad Knight, which many consider to be the biggest and best in the district. “There were too many kids where after graduation they would go out and party and get drunk, and so we wanted you guys to have a safe and sober place where you guys could all be with your friends and celebrate your four years.”

Unfortunately, the Grad Knight committee is low on volunteers this year. “We need the kids to ask their parents to come and support it. We’re a non-profit, parent-booster volunteer organization, so we need the parents to come out and help. And we don’t just need volunteers from the senior class, we also need it from the freshman/sophomore/junior class so that we can pass down the information.”

It’s a big job, and the seniors can’t have their party without the help of their parents. “We need volunteers June 11th through June 17th. June 11th to June 16th is set-up, and June 17th is take down.”

Mike Hutton, designer of the castle that gets built every year in the gym, tells us that getting volunteers for June 17th is especially important. “When everything is all done, everyone wants to just walk away and be done with it,” says Hutton.

The theme is “A Knight to Remember”. Tickets are $120, and applications are available in the activities office and online. You can contact Marissa Demes at (714) 848-2068 or at marissa.d.demes@citi.com. For more information go to the Grad Night page at http://ecs.fvhs.com/dsp.org.cfm?uid=429.