SEQUIM — A small army of Sequim parents is throwing a ginormous party for their kids, and playing a little golf to get warmed up for it.
“Passport to Adventure” is the theme of the graduation-night bash for some 277 Sequim High School seniors, so from 9 p.m. on June 11 to 4 a.m. on June 12, the Sequim Community Church at 950 N. Fifth Ave. will be made over into what looks like the main deck of a cruise ship.
This, said planning committee chief Lee Lawrence, is “a massive undertaking — in a good way.”
Elsewhere on the North Olympic Peninsula, parents are putting on grad-night parties.
They include:
• A party at the Forks Elks Lodge for Forks High School seniors after their June 5 commencement ceremony.
• A cruise across Port Townsend Bay for Port Townsend High School seniors the night of June 11.
• The Port Angeles High School senior party June 18 at the Elks Naval Lodge in downtown Port Angeles.
Keep kids safe
The goal of the grad-night bash is simple: “to keep the kids safe,” during the last night when they’ll be all together as a class, Lawrence said.
“We want them to have a good time,” in an environment free of alcohol and other drugs, he added. So Lawrence and the rest of the Sequim parents are putting together games, food, music and a professional DJ — plus at least one grant to be given to a graduate for his or her postsecondary education.
Lawrence has been working with the Sequim Education Foundation on the new Sequim Student Memorial Grant, to be given in honor of local students and alumni who suffered untimely deaths in alcohol- or other drug-related tragedies.
Grant presentation
The grant will be presented at the party at midnight, after drawings for it and 10 or 11 other grand prizes, Lawrence said.
The party and grant are not sponsored by Sequim High School, so the seniors’ moms and dads are doing all of the fundraising for both; the group is heading into its final push now.
Lawrence, whose son, Kris, will be among the graduates celebrating on June 11, is spending many of his waking hours — outside his job at Costco Wholesale — inviting community members to support the seniors.
Golf tourney Saturday
The parents have organized, among other things, the Golf for Graduates Tournament at the SkyRidge Golf Course this Saturday.
Tickets are $50 per person including lunch and prizes, and players are asked to register by Friday morning by phoning 360-683-3673. Check-in will be at 8 a.m. Saturday with the shotgun start at 9 a.m.
Tax-deductible donations for the grad-night party are also being accepted by the planning committee, which includes Lawrence, Leland Schwab and Buzz Cutting.
To contribute, e-mail LeeLawrence@wavecable.com or phone 360-461-2155.
Tickets to the party itself are $25 per senior, and students who purchase theirs by June 1 will be entered into a drawing for an Apple iPad tablet computer.
A tradition
Sequim’s party is a decades-old tradition, Schwab said.
Parents were spurred into action by the death of Charlie Sallee, a Sequim High School student killed on his graduation night in 1983.
Schwab and his wife, Paula, are busy with fundraising, prize-buying and planning decor for the June 11 party, and looking forward to seeing their son, Sam, collect his diploma.
Both Schwab and Lawrence, meanwhile, are marveling at the parents and other supporters of the event.
“This is a good place to be involved,” Schwab said. “People in this community give back.”
“In my 12 years of local volunteer efforts, the graduation party has been the most gratifying event I’ve been affiliated with,” Lawrence added.
“And it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
