WAKEFIELD — The Savings Bank will sponsor the traditional grand march before the Wakefield Memorial High School Class of 2024 senior prom on Wednesday, May 29. The grand march will begin at 5 p.m. on Wakefield’s Veterans’ Memorial Common. The Savings Bank has sponsored the event before the prom since 1998. As the sponsor, The Savings Bank provides a disc jockey that plays background music and makes related announcements before and during the procession through the upper Common. The Bank also decorates the Common with balloons and provides signage and safety personnel for the event. Residents and businesses are reminded that the grand march will require the temporary closing of Church St. from Common St. to Main St. beginning at 4:15 p.m.
This year, the students will assemble at the high school between 3:30 and 4 p.m. and arrive at the Common at 4:30 p.m. in buses which will be parked on Church St. between the Veterans’ Memorial Common and the lower commons. When the grand march is completed, the students will go to the buses and proceed north on Main Street to the prom. All students who attend the prom at Cruiseport Gloucester must participate in the grand march. Additional information about the event has been sent to parents in a mailing from the high school.
AMONG THE MEETING participants pictured from the left: WMHS Principal Amy McLeod; Class Secretary Corinne Dunlap; President Lea Carangelo; PTSA Representative Megan Cataldo; Vice President Grace McHugh; Treasurer Abigail Hodgdon; and The Savings Bank Marketing Coordinator Ally Houghton.
Parents and friends are asked to park on adjacent streets in the downtown area. Police officers will be stationed at various locations and intersections. There will be reserved parking on Lake Ave. between Main and Spaulding Sts. for those vehicles with disability plates and placards. Residents are reminded that the one-hour parking restriction will be lifted during the event, and that they should not park in areas posted NO PARKING. A letter will also be sent to neighbors in the weeks before the event.
In the event of inclement weather, the grand march will be held in the Wakefield High School Field House at 5 p.m. If the weather is questionable, High School administrators will make the decision whether to hold the grand march in the field house between 1 and 2 p.m. on the day of the prom. Information will be posted online on the WMHS website at wakefieldpublicschools.org/WPS/highschool and on the school and district Facebook pages at facebook.com/wakefieldps/ and facebook.com/therealwmhs/.
“The annual grand march is always a fun and exciting time for Wakefield Memorial High School seniors, their guests and their families,” Bob DiBella, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Savings Bank said. “The Savings Bank is proud to be the sponsor of this longtime community tradition.”
Representatives from The Savings Bank, Wakefield Memorial High School and the Class of 2024 recently met to discuss the logistics and rules for the grand march which will take place on Wednesday evening, May 29 on Wakefield’s Veterans’ Memorial Common. The Savings Bank has sponsored the annual march prior to the WMHS Senior Prom since 1998.
