June 8 event gives seniors place to spend safe, sober Saturday; volunteers needed

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

A longtime Benicia High School tradition is looking for help from the community.

Since 1989, Grad Night has given outgoing Benicia High seniors a safe, sober and substance-free place to celebrate with their friends and classmates: on the campus of the school where they just concluded four years of study.

This year, Grad Night organizers need volunteers — a lot of them — to make the night go smoothly. Especially for the second, late shift.

Lisa Villarreal, event chair, said Grad Night is, as always, the night of graduation June 8, starting at 9 a.m. and ending around 4 a.m. the next morning.

Some of the activities in store for Grad Night celebrants are a casino, including blackjack and poker; a full-service salon that includes haircuts, makeup and massages; and inflatable games from Plan>It Interactive, a Benicia business. “They have a trampoline thing they can jump on, a mechanical bull, toilet bowl racers, all these different games that we rent,” Villareal said.

Carnival games, karaoke, a DJ and movies also will be offered, as will one of the students’ favorites over the years: Boxer Bingo.

“Instead of giving out prizes, we give out boxer shorts, and they end up putting the boxers on over their clothes, and end up walking around with their badge of honor,” Villarreal said.

Caricature artists will do portraits, and a henna artist will decorate hands in the South Asian tradition. And, “There will be a craft area where they can make stuff. We have all kinds of stuff,” Villarreal said.

Each year, Grad Night has a theme that remains a secret until the night itself. This year is no different.

Last year’s theme was “Let The Adventure Begin.” “That was all the adventure movies that the kids have grown up with like Indiana Jones, ‘Star Wars,’ Lara Croft, Harry Potter, of course,” Villarreal said. “The year before that was ‘Road Trip.’ Each area was decorated like a different place in the United States.”

She said 80 percent to 85 percent of the graduating seniors attend Grad Night. “It’s open to both Benicia High and Liberty High,” she said.

With so many students and so many activities, volunteers are needed by the dozen.

“We have about 20 percent of the slots filled right now for (the late) shift,” Villarreal said.

“We’re definitely trying to reach out to the community. I have two older kids and I asked them if they would email some of their alumni friends, trying to look for younger people that don’t mind staying up.”

Those who can’t help the night of the event could pitch in with Friday setup and Sunday cleanup, she said.

“We’ll start decorating various spots on campus before Friday, but the main push is Friday. We need quite a few people to help get it done,” Villarreal said.

Those who wish to volunteer can visit beniciagradnight.net and sign up online, or email beniciagradnight@yahoo.com.