For homecoming 2021, the EHS pep club is not wasting any time on starting new traditions for the week of homecoming. 

For the first EHS homecoming in 2 years, the EHS Pep Club is going all out. Acting president, Isaac Workman shares all the details about what’s to come. Pep club has big plans to make up for all the time lost during the peak of the pandemic. He tells about the week leading up to the dance, which is scheduled for Saturday on the football field. Beginning on Monday is spirit week: Netflix edition, starting with Tiger King and ending with Stranger Things on Friday with Outer Banks, The Last Dance, and class colors day planned for the days in between. He also told about the itinerary of the Burning of the E when the hoco court will be formally announced, a food truck, and new plans for a parking lot tailgate rather than the powder puff football game, a tradition at Elkhorn anticipated by many seniors. Workman talks about how the news plan came to be. “Basically the whole plan stemmed from a lot of athletes being unable to play because, in-season athletes, coaches didn’t want them getting hurt. So we switched. We’re gonna have a giant parking lot tailgate with yard games and then possibly a field goal contest.”

Speaking more in detail of spirit week: Monday through Friday, the pep squad has made it official on what to wear for the days of the week. These themes are based on Netflix shows and movies. First, on Monday it is Tiger King day. This means wearing all the animal prints you can find. While following that on Tuesday it is Outer Banks themed. So when you head out the door remind yourself to grab a lei as well. On Wednesday, we are recreating The Last Dance, a sports movie. Thursday is class colors day, which means each grade wears a different color to represent our school. Seniors are wearing black, Juniors are wearing grey, Sophomores are wearing red, while the freshmen are wearing white. On the last day of spirit week, our halls will be filled with a blast from the past because it’s 80’s themed! Which will be a recreation from Netflix’s original show: Stranger things. 

As a tradition at Elkhorn High School, the pep club is proud to announce that Burning of the E is making a return this year. Burning of the E has been a tradition at EHS since the late 1970s. It’s a ceremony to kick off the school year, while it recognizes the weekend of homecoming. 

“For Burning of the E, we’re taking in a big metal E and covering it in a burlap sack, and then we’ll douse it with gasoline, and light it on fire,” Workman said.

He also mentioned that during the ceremony, the legend, written by former EHS athletic trainer and history teacher John Carter, is read with it. Doing the honors of reading the legend is Journalism teacher and Swim and Dive Coach; Chris Jenson. Jenson, who has been reading the Legend of the E for 10+ years, says when he started he was given the script and was told to read it. “I tried to make it as dramatic as possible.” He told about the most memorable part of his experiences with the legend. “It’s always kind of cool when it’s dark and you get, you know, the football players go down there and it’s kind of dark and the E lights up, and the stadium is really quiet and usually when you’re at the stadium it’s loud. So that’s kind of cool. It’s got this kind of reverence isn’t the right word but it’s mystical, and you know the players are standing around the E and then eventually the whole crowd kind of goes down there and it’s just kind of a cool moment that brings the school together and kind of gets them ready for the big game before homecoming.”

Since the iconic homecoming football game has been moved to Thursday, the pep club had planned an outdoor movie night at Dairy Chef and will be showing a football movie, Remember the Titans, to keep the week full of memorable events for all of the students. 

For the highly-anticipated event, homecoming will be hosted on September 18 on the EHS football field, making it the second EHS dance to take place on the field, after prom 2021. The dance has been postponed for 2 years now because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year it will start at 8:00 and will last until 11:00 o’clock that night. During that night, around 10:30, coronation will also begin and the king, queen, prince, and princess will be announced out of the 22 candidates for homecoming court. 

Pep club has put in lots of work to make this a week to remember for Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors alike.

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