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Grad Night seeks entertainment

 

With just two months until graduation, the Sonoma Valley High Grad Night Committee is nailing down the activities and entertainment for the all-night drug-and-alcohol-free party. The budget for Grad Night has tightened considerably and the event is asking for volunteers from the community to donate their talents and services.

In particular the committee needs massage techs, tarot readers, spray tattoo artists, a photographer for the photo booth and hair and nail stylists.

Presenting more than six hours of amusement and activities to keep the 250-plus graduates busy is a challenging feat. Ruth Hernandez of E&R Salon spearheads the entertainment committee and arranges for all of the above-mentioned and more. Each year brings different activities, depending on volunteers. Occasionally Grad Night has had to reach into its pockets and pay for services. The greatly reduced budget this year precludes that.

In addition to the activities, Hernandez brings in rock-climbing walls, giant inflatable toys such as slides and the popular Wrecking Ball. The Bucking Bronco was a huge hit last year. While each of these provide a lot of fun, it is the personal interaction between a girl getting her hair styled by Roseanne Fanucci, of Roseanne's in Glen Ellen; or an 18-year-old boy joking with his friends while getting his fingernails painted Dragon Green by Joanne, of Nails by Joanne Haviland, that really make the night special. In past years Scott Sherman has drawn caricatures of the kids, creating lasting mementos of high school friendships.

The party may be an all-nighter but for volunteers who donate their services the night is broken up into two three-hour shifts. That small amount of time committed to one night of keeping the graduates safe and preventing a drunken tragedy, reaps huge personal satisfaction.

To learn more and register to volunteer as an entertainment or service professional, contact Ruth Hernandez at ruvier@pacbell.net or 799-0659. Keep up with Grad Night news on the group’s Facebook page - Sonoma Valley High Grad Night.