Braving the Rain at Homecoming

The Long Beach High School Homecoming Carnival, sponsored by the Student Government Organization, attracted record crowds despite the inclement weather Friday.

Volunteers from many school clubs and honor societies provided the entertainment, which included international foods, a pie toss, a wedding booth, finger painting, a photo booth and other carnival games.

While the damp, rainy weather did not deter fans who filled the stands at Veterans Field to cheer the Marines on to a 34-7 Homecoming victory against Bellmore JFK, it did prevent the marching band from presenting their traditional halftime show. But the Varsity Cheerleading Squad braved the rain to entertain the crowd and inspire the athletes. Then members of the Long Beach Bulldogs youth football program charged across the field at lightning speed in the annual Bulldog Dash, before the football team returned to the field for the second half.

The Varsity Football team will be sponsoring the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation during the fall season. To support this cause, donations were collected at the gate and at the concession stand.

Homecoming weekend was capped off with a ceremony on Saturday morning to induct new members to the Long Beach High School Wall of Fame. This year’s inductees were esteemed professor and historian Eric Foner (Class of 1959), renowned doctor and cancer researcher Steven Libutti (Class of 1982) and Vietnam War veteran and retired Long Beach Police Detective Thomas Parker (Class of 1963).

For more details about this year’s Wall of Fame honorees, visit www.lbeach.org.