Without a doubt, 2020 has been anything but ordinary. So it’s safe to assume that one of Buford’s long-standing traditions was impacted as well. Buford celebrates Homecoming like no other town. The schools let out early, everyone comes to the parade and the stadium is packed during the game on Homecoming Day. This year, Homecoming looked a whole lot different.
Buford City Schools administration worked hard to be able to provide the students and the community with a Homecoming that was as close to normal as possible. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many school districts to cancel all Homecoming festivities, but Buford decided against that.
The administration opted instead to go the extra mile and pull off altered pep rallies and a parade. Instead of a completely packed stadium, a capacity limit was set and that was all that was allowed to enter the gates of Tom Robinson stadium. What could not be saved was the Homecoming dance, however, many students still got dressed up in their dance attire, took the obligatory photos and then went out for dinner.
The parade was deemed a “reverse parade” where the participants were stationary and the spectators drove past them. The participants happily waved or cheered from their assigned spots in the Buford Arena parking lot to the hundreds of carloads of spectators who drove by. In true Buford fashion, the town still showed up to cheer on the participants.
The sheer joy was apparent on everyone’s face throughout the Homecoming Day’s festivities. In the midst of such uncertain times, a bit of normal (as normal as possible, that is) was much welcomed.
