In years past, West High has held the tradition of putting on a Homecoming parade in downtown Tracy after school to conclude the week of celebrations. This year’s Homecoming will hold a new festivity, PackFest. The carnival-style event will include booths on campus where students can purchase items or participate in activities run by the clubs and programs. It will be held on campus during the school day, contrasting the past event’s location and time.
The shifting of events has brought many questions, especially as to why this change is being made, to which Leadership Advisor Scott Behnam said: “Last year, as a whole, we felt that there wasn’t a lot of participation. It was really hard for kids to get downtown, and so the idea is ‘What can we do to add more inclusion? How can we get more people involved?’ That’s where we got the idea of clubs, of holding the event on campus, [we] wanted it to be available to every student.”
ASB President Noah Watkins provides insight to the benefits of a carnival-style event instead of a parade. “Students will benefit from the festival being held during school hours, helping increase student involvement to about 100%, something which did not occur during the parade.” He also hopes it will become an annual event that students will enjoy in years to come.
Although the change has made the festivity more accessible for the students, not all students are optimistic. When asked if PackFest will live up to the success of the Homecoming parade, senior Jayden Poblete responded, “I like the idea of trying, but we should stick to the parade because it’s tradition.”
Tradition is difficult to continue when there are missing pieces. One key difference between this school year and last year is the absence of Erick Keating, who passed away in May of 2024. Keating was essential in the parade preparations. “Without Keating, it’s really hard,” Behnam comments. “He was a big, big part of the parade. He’s the one that really put it together, and we want to honor him as much as we can.”
As this is the first year holding PackFest, there is no way to predict how the event will play out. “The most intimidating part of the leadup to PackFest is the unknown that comes with an event that we have never put on before,” Watkins expresses, “However, we love that the clubs and programs know that we are all in this together.”
Watkins continues, “I am looking forward to watching all students on campus interact with the creativity of the clubs of West. I know Leadership and the clubs and programs have been working extremely hard to be diligent and creative in their shift to this new experience that comes with the festival. We are excited about the idea of a new project and look forward to seeing more students involved.” He concludes.
