Capitalizing on a trend featuring drive-in events as a pandemic measure, Project Graduation plans to offer drive-in, giant screen viewing of the Three Rivers High School Homecoming football game. The game takes place on the evening of Friday, October 2, and will take place at the Armstrong Youth Sports Complex on North Main Street.
Project Graduation Committee member Tricia Meyer, who is the parent of a graduating senior this year, said the arrangement will be “like a drive-in movie.” She called the event, a “win-win to allow students to watch the game.” Pandemic rules for live attendance at the game is limited to two people per player, which usually limits it to parents or other family members. “It’s a community event,” Meyer said. “It’s really important that the students, the seniors, get as many experiences as they can, with safety in mind, obviously.”
Meyer said the committee was “trying to think outside the box, and the first thing out the gate was football. I mean, football already has to think outside the box, but it’s one thing to make it work for your athletes. When you’ve got a thousand spectators who are used to that tradition of being there, we kind of had to come along and come up with our own way to be there.”
The event is a fundraiser for Project Graduation’s other activities. In a more typical year, without pandemic restrictions, Project Graduation organizes students to park cars at the St. Joseph County Fair. There is a father-daughter dance and a mother son activity night. “Every class does a different variation, they come up with their own ideas, but those are the traditional events,” Meyer said. She hopes this year’s Holiday Home Tour will proceed as planned, but that is subject to further pandemic developments.
For the October 2 drive-in event, concessions will be available, and the TRHS Marching Band will offer a halftime performance, also broadcast on the giant screen. Meyer said the event is a drive-in event. There are no walk-ins allowed, and there is a limit of five people per car. In accordance with pandemic precautions, masks will be required. Spectators will be permitted to be outside their cars but must be within their designated parking space.
There will be a $20-per-car admission. Tickets are available in advance at the high school or at the Downtown Three Rivers office at 57 North Main Street. On the night of the event, gates will open at 6 p.m., and kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
