After the popularity of last year’s Sadie Hawkins, held at Six Flags Magic Mountain, a lasting impression for the standards of school events was left upon the student body. In order to recreate this success, the leadership class once again sought to organize an event to include the entire campus.
The class deliberated and scheduled for several months before ultimately deciding on the theme of “Destination Sadies: Fanny Pack o’ Fun,” which led the student body around the Fresno area, April 9.
The event began at the FCS Gym where students congregated for couple photographs by Mullins Studios. From there, students divided themselves and loaded onto two buses, which took them to River Park. There, they ate dinner and then watched Soul Surfer at Edward’s Theater. To finish off the evening on a high note, students attended a private skating session at Cal Skate.
Traditionally, Sadies is an event where girls ask their dates to a casual event — a contrast to the more conventional winter formal, Night of the Stars (NOTS). Past Sadies events have included line dancing and neon bowling.
Despite initial opposition to this year’s activities from some students, a total of 80 participants attended the event.
Sadies exceeded freshman Elora Hargis’s expectations. Out of all of the night’s events, skating with her date, Bullard High School sophomore Manuel Cervantes, was the most memorable part, she says.
“I expected Sadies to be not as fun as it actually was,” Hargis said. “It went above my expectations because everyone got into the whole Sadies atmosphere and had fun with it. The best part was seeing my date, Manuel Cervantes dance his heart out on the rink. It was so funny since he could barley even skate in a straight line.”
Even after last year’s Sadies popularity, leadership adviser Robert Foshee considers “Destination Sadies: Fanny Pack o’ Fun” a success due to its opportunities for the student body to spend time together.
“I thought Sadies had a pretty good turn out,” Foshee said. “We thought last year was fun and we thought this year was fun too. People went to dinner together, saw a movie, and went skating; leadership class is amazing for setting it all up.”
Like Foshee, first time attendee junior Jonathan Passmore appreciated the opportunity to accompany others during light-hearted activities like roller skating, he says.
“It was fun hanging out with everyone and traveling places,” Passmore said. “I would definitely go again; I got to know my fellow classmates better. The best part was probably being in River Park because we got to walk around and talk to everyone and share laughs.”
Not everyone in the student body shared a positive outlook on Sadies, however, as some worked out alternative plans with their dates. Junior Raine Hayes decided to have a “date day” with her boyfriend instead of spending the evening at Sadies.
“I could have done those things on any other Saturday night, so it really didn’t seem worth the $70 for tickets,” Hayes said. “If you were going to Sadies as just friends, the normal event would have been better because it was more inclusive for everyone and allowed everyone to have fun as friends.
After months of planning, Associate Student Body President (ASB) senior Justin Wilson was relieved that Sadies was received well by the students who attended.
“I thought it [Sadies] was a lot of fun!” Justin Wilson, ASB President, ’13, said. “People enjoyed it for sure and I thought people wouldn’t come because it was in Fresno, but it turned out great! Good job to leadership.”
For more information on Sadies, read the April 4 article, BRIEF: Sadie Hawkins plans, tickets.
Mary Hierholzer, Ashley Ward and Austin Ward also contributed to this article.
