by Cathy Voisard

The Half Moon Bay High '70s reunion weekend is fast approaching, and it promises to be one of the most exciting weekends Half Moon Bay will see this year.  As we speak, alumni are booking hotel rooms on Main Street, making plane reservations, and looking forward to a weekend where so many people can gather together en masse to celebrate a shared and rich history that only Coastsiders can understand.     

The reunion committee has been working together along with Mark Center since the '90s. We have planned two hugely successful reunions to date: one in 2002 and the second in 2007. 

This one in 2012 will be our last.  While we focus primarily on alumni who graduated in the '70s, people who have graduated from both the '60s and '80s have already purchased tickets. Everyone is welcome! Many teachers will attend this event as well.     

The reunion weekend is a three-day event and it kicks off on Friday night, July 20, at our Icebreaker Dance at the Old Princeton Landing.  Festivities begin at 7 p.m. and will be emceed by Grant Walters and his band Big Crawdaddy.   

My band Date Night will be opening the show, and we are lining up alumni musicians to keep the house entertained until midnight. We will publish the complete lineup of bands this month on our website. 

The Icebreaker party is a good way for classmates to meet and greet in a relaxed setting prior to the main event on Saturday night. There will be no cover charge, but we are asking for donations to the Cabrillo Education Foundation's endowment fund for those so inclined.    

The big reunion is on Saturday night, July 21 at the I.D.E.S. Hall on Main Street.  Doors open at 3 p.m. The dress theme for this highly anticipated event will be school colors, and we ask all attendees to wear orange, black, and white.

The main event has too many highlights to mention.  It will be a catered affair and we have a great blues-jump-rock soul band.  There will be a silent auction, a huge photo display of memories, the Remembrance Area for those who have passed, an award ceremony for teachers and others, unique decorations, song dedications, fantastic door prizes, karaoke, and many surprises that we prefer to keep under our hat for now.   

We are also providing a free shuttle service which will loop around the coast starting from the early afternoon until 2 a.m. to make sure that all attendees are delivered safely to their homes or hotels.    

Sunday is a free event, and a way for classmates to unwind, recap the weekend events, share a meal together, and say good-bye.  A continental breakfast will be offered at Cameron’s, just south of town, at 10:00 a.m.     

Tickets are selling fast, so if you haven’t purchased one yet, please stop by our website and do so there.  On our website you will also find attendance pages from the previous two reunions, as well as loads of photo memories and our obituary pages.      

Those of us grew up in our small quixotic coastal town share memories that are like special threads of a unique fabric we can truly call our own. 

Go Cougars. Go Big Orange.  

See you in July.

Cathy Voisard is on the Half Moon Bay High School '70s Reunion Commitee. Come back soon to Half Moon Bay Patch for more nostalgic photos at Half Moon Bay High from the 1970s.

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