Morden uses drive-in theatre for memorable send-off to graduates robbed by pandemic
Honks replace claps as Morden salutes Class of 2020 on the big screen
A graduating class in rural Manitoba viewed a coming-of-age story on the big screen Thursday night — except this time, they were the stars.
High school grads in Morden watched their own convocation ceremony in a prerecorded video while lounging in vehicles at the local drive-in movie theatre.
WATCH | Morden uses drive-in theatre for memorable send-off to graduates:
The school cancelled its traditional ceremony due to COVID-19 physical distancing protocols. And though it wasn't the graduation they wanted, the 137 students made the most of it.
They honked their vehicles in place of clapping. They munched on popcorn. They dressed in sweaters rather than grad dresses
Torrie Thiessen said she wasn't mourning the traditional graduation experience she expected before COVID-19 hit.
"I knew that they would do something really special and here we are, doing something really special," she said. "I went to the grad last year and it was pretty awesome … so is this, it's pretty much the same thing."
Morden Collegiate Institute came up with, in their principal's words, a "natural fit" for a physically-distant graduation in the city of 8,600 people, about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg.
The Stardust Drive-in Theatre is "an icon of this community," said Marianne Fenn, and it allowed families to be confined to separate vehicles but together as a whole.
Students had received their diplomas earlier in June during individualized ceremonies at the school gym, witnessed by their individual families. Each acceptance was filmed and packaged together into a two-hour film, peppered with the requisite graduation speeches, of course.
Students grateful
The ceremony premiered on the big screen after 10 p.m., and was wrapped up with a surprise fireworks display.
"The fact that they pulled this together was amazing," one graduate, Joseph Hernandez, said afterwards.
"I honestly liked the fact that everybody got their own little private moment [before] the ceremony … and then they had a video recording and everybody came here to watch it."
Hours earlier, every vehicle lined up along Route 100, south of Morden, until a police escort took them to the theatre.
While every other family drove in with cars, trucks and SUVs, the Hernandez family rented a small bus, plastered it with banners of Joseph's face, and gave noisemakers and party hats to the revellers.
It was all his family's idea, Joseph insisted.
"It's a little embarrassing," he said, "but I don't care, it's amazing."
He's the first of 17 grandchildren in his family to cross the graduation stage.
"We couldn't all fit in one car so we needed a bus to all fit, because everyone wanted to come … all the 17 grandchildren, my aunts, uncles, my parents and my grandparents."
Kassidy Curry said there was "lots of crying" once she realized the pomp and circumstance of her traditional June graduation was coming undone. She wouldn't have the grad skip day, senior prank, safe grad or even the ceremony she envisioned.
But those feelings gave way to a celebration on Thursday.
"This graduation, going to the drive-in to watch it, is something I'll never forget and something no one else will really get to experience," Curry said, her arms wrapped around her friends.
"It's really great that they tried to do a lot for us," said Catrina Peters about the school.
Valedictorian Mollie Wheeler credited her classmates for rolling with the punches, in a pandemic and before it.
She said Morden's Class of 2020 was wholeheartedly involved in their academic year. They ended up with twice as many people on the honour roll than other grade levels and featured prominently on sports teams, drama performances and choir.
The graduating class also won annual Grade Wars competition, featuring an assortment of athletic, academic and goofy challenges.
"I believe it is this willingness to show up that has made us stand out," she said in her pre-recorded address.
She also paid tribute to Roxanne Martens, better known to her classmates as "Roxy." She died in a vehicle crash in April. The graduation ceremony served as the first time the class could collectively gather since her passing.
"It didn't take being a close friend of hers to recognize her big smile from down the hall," Wheeler said, tears welling in her eyes.
"The loss of a beautiful graduate, classmate and friend affects everyone here."
A montage to Martens later in the video ended with a chorus of vehicles honking in tribute.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
