OHCHS brings back homecoming parade

NORWAY — Selectmen at their September 6 meeting approved a request for a homecoming parade, scheduled for September 29. 

According to Maria Berriault, a representative of the Oxford Hills Booster Club, homecoming parades seemed to have lost their spirit over the years. 

"We've seen a downward support of the high school athletic programs," Berriault told the board during the September 6 meeting. 

Berriault said the booster club has recently taken over organizing the parades.

She said homecoming parades provide community support to student athletes. 

But parades today are not what they were 20-50 years ago, said Berriault.

In response, the booster club, along with the high school student council, has stepped in "to revamp homecoming to what it was years ago," she said. 

The parade will begin at the Advertiser Democrat and proceed down Main and Paris streets. Line up is at 10:30 a.m. on Water Street and the parade kicks off at 11 a.m.

Berriault said while the streets would need to be shut down, the parade would not last longer than an hour. 

"The reason we want it back in Norway is because the businesses here are so supportive of the school system," said Berriault. 

"I can remember growing up and the businesses were 'Go Vikings' all the way up Main Street."

For the past two years the parade has happened solely in Paris, said Berriault. The idea, she said, is to once again get Norway involved. 

Selectwoman Irene Millett said she supports the parade. 

In the past, Millett said, the parade's location was determined by the organizers. "It wasn't that the town had a reason we didn't want it," she said. 

According to Town Manager David Holt, Norway Police Chief Robert Federico and Paris Police Chief David Verrier have met and agreed the parade would be well-staffed by police.

Despite the police presence, selectmen said there would be no expense to the booster club, in the same way they don't charge for the Christmas parade.