Cobourg High School graduates have always celebrated their PROM with a parade where they arrive at their destination in style or in many cases, showing their creativity (see link below for photos from 2011). But in recent years, the permitted vehicles have been limited, supposedly in the interest of safety. But one thing has continued, the parade and welcoming of individuals as they arrive. The Cobourg Institute Collegiate event was on Friday evening in glorious sunshine – most of the time. Led by a Police car and the Cobourg Legions Pipes and Drums, the first couple were in a horse drawn carriage. Some of the many vehicles were vintage cars but many were pickup trucks – old and new. Several hundred people lined King Street and were at the school entrance.
Most of the students were in couples – although not all – with some coming individually or in groups. After they got out of their vehicles, they walked up a red carpet where they provided a card with their name(s). They were then announced, photographed and greeted by the Principal before going into the school.
The video below captures the event although there was no good location to take videos – all the parents and other family members also wanted to take photos.
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I drove by as the young folk were getting ready to start the parade. It was lovely to see happy, smiling faces and the sun was shining! Well done kids, you brought the sun out.
And once again, the miserable people give a thumbs down to a happy comment.
This wonderful tradition would be further enhanced with the presence of the Town Crier announcing the names as they enter the school.
Which sounds great in theory until, as I know from experience, they mispronounce the name in front of all your friends and colleagues. Oh to have been a John Smith.
I’ve had my name mispronounced from time to time in my life, in front of friends and even on stage. It’s not a traumatic experience, more like a shrugged-it off-experience.
Please stop with the negativity! This was a very important and joyful evening for the participants…a celebration. We all celebrate far too little, especially young people in our lives. Thanks for the video John…fun to watch these kids on their special night.
This is a very informative blog which keeps residents of Cobourg current on events that they might not otherwise know about. However, there are the standard 5 or 6 actors that seem to trash anything posted and each other, and copy articles from other sources. It is quite clear who they are. Here is high school prom, and it can’t even go 24 hours without negative views and personal attacks I wish they would stop, but I don’t believe thy will – so I am deleting this blog from my favourites and will check it out again in 6 months to see if anything has changed.
I ignore these people and continue to appreciate and benefit from John’s blog! Don’t delete the blog. It’s the best news source in Cobourg!
Don’t let the misery of others prevent you from participating in this much needed blog. These are the folk that never leave their homes to support the activities in Cobourg. Just ignore them and be happy to be here 🙂
Nice, but!
According to a knowledgeable source, CCI will lose 8 teachers next year.
Why?
The Ford government’s new class-size averages make it almost impossible to offer specialized courses in skilled trades and technology.
Other ‘frills’ like arts and music courses are also being chopped.
All this at a time when Ontario is facing a shortage in the skilled trades.
The “knowledgeable source”?
Many of us have been through a period of hard times. One becomes creative. In current times we have lots of thrift shops close by. Petticoat lane, the Hospital Thrift shop on Monroe Street had a dozen or so beautiful Prom dresses and two tuxedos, not to mention several high end suits. All well under $20 each. Kyle, feel free to drop by between 9:30 and 4:30 Monday through Saturday and check the store out.
Cobourg also has a theatre costume place on Ontario Street. You can rent an outfit and not have to find a place to store it afterwards.
Didn’t realize you were selling second hand horse drawn carriages, limos, boats on trailers etc.
This year, nobody arrived in a boat on a trailer and many arrived in ordinary cars. Money was not a prerequisite for participation. Kyle, do you ever have anything positive to say? It would be refreshing for a change.
Proms are no doubt a highlight of the high school years.
But since social pressures are at max and all schools have exclusive social cliques, Prom experiences can be traumatic.
One source are differences in wealth, as Kyle points out. In the US, a projected called ‘Enchanted Closet’ started in 2003 to provide prom dresses to teenage girls whose families were financially challenged. Fourteen years later, Enchanted Closet has outfitted over 7000 girls and has saved families approximately $1,750,000.
Another is drinking before and after the Prom. Arriving in limos or party buses has been banned in many school jurisdictions.
The experiences of LGBT kids at Proms are the subject of a recent CBC documentary ‘Take Me To The Prom’.
One hopes that none of this happened nor will happen here and that all students will treasure the Prom Night 2019.
I recall going to the prom at CDCI-E in 1963. My father had committed suicide the previous year. That came with a lot of stigma in those days. My sweetheart and I came from poor families, but we were socially rich because we had friends with cars and basement rec rooms where the all night after-party party took place. One of the traditions at that time was dawn smelt fishing at Brook Road Creek. The charm was looking at beautiful princess girls sipping their drinks on the banks of the creek with boys in the water catching smelt in pathetically small nets. The incongruity sparkled.
It must be hard to be a high school student in Cobourg who does not have parents able to fork out big bucks to display their wealth.
Kyle – I suspect you were not in the parade or that you didn’t attend the parade. I was in the parade with my daughter and I can tell, you first hand, many of the soon-to-be graduates were in ordinary vehicles, trailers, the back of trucks or in cars with other couples ordinary and otherwise. There has always been varying degrees of wealth and cliques in high school – assume there always will be – neither wealth or poverty define a person or their ability to enjoy their prom.
I guess it depends what “clique” you are in.
When i went to prom in grade 12, I just got dropped off and walked in. No parade, no fancy anything. Get 10 minutes into the actual prom and nobody is talking about or remembering which vehicle people showed up in anyway.