Cedar City graduating seniors recognized with parade down Main Street

CEDAR CITY — Seniors graduating from both Cedar High School and Canyon View High School had the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments with a parade Thursday evening on Cedar City’s Main Street.

Cedar High School and Canyon View High School graduates participate in a parade along Main Street to celebrate their accomplishments, Cedar City, Utah, May 21, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St George News / Cedar City News

Students staged in the parking lot of Southern Utah University’s JR Sorensen Physical Education building in their vehicles, then drove toward Main Street from Center Street. From there, seniors from Cedar High paraded south on Main, and seniors from Canyon View High paraded north. Spectators were staged in their vehicles along Main Street to help seniors celebrate.

“There’s something to be said about ceremonies for accomplishments,” Cedar High Principal John Dodds told Cedar City News.

“It’s fun to do the traditional ceremony that your family and everyone else has done,” Dodds said. “For many of these students they may be the first in any generation to graduate. There has to be some disappointment there, but at the same time, we’ve just been so humbled by the community response and the student response to our efforts.”

Dodds said Cedar High students have been appreciative and supportive of the efforts made for the parade.

“They’re just thrilled we’re doing something,” Dodds said.

Dodds added that the graduation parade may offer a unique memory for students to look back on as well.

“(It is) a memory that we’ll be able to have forever that we did something extra special for a group that’s missed out on so much,” Dodds said.

Cedar High School and Canyon View High School graduates participate in a parade along Main Street to celebrate their accomplishments, Cedar City, Utah, May 21, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St George News / Cedar City News

Canyon View High Principal Danny Heaton told Cedar City News he is appreciative of the organizations that helped make the parade a reality, including the city, the Cedar City Police Department, SUU and the Cedar City-Brian Head Tourism Bureau.

Heaton said there were some mixed feelings among Canyon View students, but the parade still made public recognition of students possible.

“Some of the kids are just sad that it’s not normal, and then some of our graduates are pretty excited that they’re going to get to do something that not everyone does,” Heaton said.

Heaton also said the parade was the result of brainstorming among administration, students and parents from both schools.

“We just brainstormed, and we were trying to look at things that would allow us to do a public celebration for the students and stay within the confines of the guidance from the governor’s office and the health department, so this was something we could do,” he said. “There’s just not that many things we can do to have a public recognition under the circumstances.”

Prior to the parade, a virtual graduation ceremony was held Thursday afternoon for each school that included traditional graduation music and speeches from members of the graduating class.

Cedar City News reporter Jeff Richards contributed to this report.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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