After the hundreds of students in the Vail Unified and Sahuarita Unified school districts walk across the stage and grab their diplomas today, they'll gather for one final night to celebrate four years of hard work.
In Sahuarita, the seniors will take over all of Sahuarita High School, as well as the community swimming pool and Triple Play. The theme of the evening is "Live to See the Sunrise," which has been the evening's motto for 16 years, said organizer Leta Killian.
"Hopefully the kids are not on the streets going to the other side and doing unsafe activities," said Killian, a retired resident who started working with Grad Night in 1995.
Some of the offerings at this year's party include a carnival, karaoke, live music, basketball and swimming. New this year is the addition of the famous Plinko game from "The Price Is Right."
People are also reading…
Cienega High School is holding a Grad Night for all seniors in Vail, said Mary Murray, Cienega's event coordinator. They will take over Cienega's athletic complex, which will be transformed into Neverland, complete with crocodiles, a mermaid lagoon and a pirate ship.
It'll be the second Grad Night for the district, and the activities will be similar to last year's, when the gymnasiums were transformed into various world locales.
"It's not like everyone goes more than one time," said senior and planning committee member Melissa Skaja on the decision to not change Grad Night.
Skaja said about 60 percent of the graduating class has registered, and they will be able to gamble in casinos, soak in hot tubs and eat lots of food.
As is the case at other Grad Nights across the Tucson area, the seniors in Sahuarita and Vail will party in a drug-free and alcohol-free environment that was months in the making and drained several thousand dollars from school funds. Some schools recoup their costs by charging an admission, as schools in Vail do. Sahuarita, however, offers free admission to its seniors. Underclassmen who attend pay a fee.
Killian said community members donate more than $10,000 for Grad Night. The donations also include food and supplies.
This year, Killian expects 175 seniors out of 200, plus about 600 underclassmen and guests.
"Our community has grown so much, so naturally we're going to grow with it," she said.
