By Allurabella Chandler, Staff Writer
On October 3, 2026, the Riverside Poly Bears gathered in the 800’s quad for this school year’s Homecoming dance.
This year’s Homecoming dance had many fun details and activities, especially compared to last year’s dance. The theme was “Once Upon a Hoco”, inspired by fantasy and fairytales. The Senior theme was Pirate’s Cove, Juniors were Dragon’s Lair, the Sophomore theme was Enchanted Forest, and the Freshmen’s theme was Ice Kingdom. The theme for this year is one of the most well received in the past few years, with many saying that the individual themes were very well rounded.
They brought multiple photo booths, more snacks, water and lemonade as refreshments, backdrops corresponding to the themes for each class, and more room for dancing and socializing. The music was praised by many, providing a wide variety of music selection for different ages and audiences. Senior Fabian Altamirano said that this year’s dance was “better than expected,” having never attended a Homecoming dance before this year.
The dance had two photo booths that were set up in the 500’s quad. The location of the photo booths were optimal compared to last year, since the photo booths caused a crowd to form. This made the area by the photo booths somewhat uncomfortable to stand in line in, and even walk around, so that was a great change that was observed this year. Other changes that can be noted are snack tables having more variety, and having more water and lemonade provided throughout the night compared to last year’s dance. The snacks were a hit this year, having a wide range of baked goods such as different types of cookies and brownies.
Alongside the endless hours of dancing and fun, the top five nominees for King and Queen for Homecoming were revealed. There were nominees for Homecoming court from a variety of clubs, from American Sign Language Club, all the way to Vindication Club. Even though there were dozens of nominees to choose from, only five Kings and five Queens could move on. The decisions ultimately came down to student votes and the results were released at 9:30 p.m. sharp. Some of the finalists for King and Queen were from clubs such as Sports Medicine and Link Crew. The exciting news of the top ten nominees to face off for the King and Queen title made the night even more exciting for the students attending. The winners of King and Queen will be announced at the Homecoming Football game, so the dance was a great event to promote the game as well.
Overall, the 2026 Homecoming Dance seemed to have an extremely successful and positive result, being one of the most highly anticipated events of the school year. This year’s dance lived up to expectations, even soaring above. Many enjoyed the dancing, snacks, and the long night filled with laughter and socialization. This year’s Homecoming dance will be hard to replicate in the future, and will be a night to remember.