Photo Courtesy of: Mr. Brad Bovenkerk

Mrs. Megan Freymann, co-Senior Class Board sponsor, sold Homecoming dance tickets during 4th hour lunch Wednesday when the alloted 700 in-person tickets to the second session sold out.

Less than 20 tickets remain for the second Homecoming dance session, with online ticket sales closing Thursday at 11:59 p.m. 

The Senior Class Board, said Board co-sponsor Mrs. Jennifer Kelly, decided to split Oct. 1’s Homecoming dance into two sessions and cap ticket sales for each at 1000 to ease the difficulties of 2019’s Homecoming.

700 tickets for each session, one from 6-8 p.m. and another 8:30 -10:30 p.m., were available to purchase during lunch hours last week. Seniors were eligible to buy tickets beginning Monday, juniors on Tuesday, sophomores Wednesday and all students on Thursday. 

All 700 tickets for the second session sold out Wednesday, Sep. 21, before 300 additional tickets were released online Saturday morning. 

Beyond being “extremely crowded,” Kelly said, the over 1700 students who attended the 2019 dance experienced issues with parking and delays entering the building as tickets were checked.  

The Board, Kelly said, “liked the smaller atmosphere” of 2021’s Homecoming dance, when COVID regulations required hosting two sessions to “reduce the number of students in the building.” Community did not exceed more than 800 students at either session last fall.

Staggering ticket sales for the two sessions and allowing upperclassmen first priority, Kelly said, offers the classes “different,” more enjoyable experiences. 

It would not be feasible to host one dance and allow Community students to bring outside dates, Kelly said. 

“There is no way we can hold [all those] students in [the] gymnasium,” Kelly said. 

The fire code limits the capacity of Community’s East gym, where Homecoming is held, to 1868 people. 

“We are a school of 2200,” Kelly said, and outside guests “contribute to over 10%” of dance ticket sales — without splitting the dance into two sessions, it would not be possible for every student to attend. 

“It’s such a large group,” Kelly said, “the venues in [the] Bloomington Normal area cannot hold them either.” 

Kelly said some students were disappointed with waiting until Saturday to purchase tickets to the later session and paying a $1.50 fee to the company hosting online ticket sales, but the group did their best to accommodate as many students as possible. 

Over 600 tickets for the first session of Saturday’s Homecoming dance, the Senior Class Board’s largest fundraiser, have been sold. 

Tickets will not be sold on the day of the dance.