Parade through Gilford, Gilmanton to follow GHS graduation

GILFORD — Residents of Gilford and Glimanton will have an opportunity to show their support and congratulate this year’s graduating class at Gilford High School as they parade through areas of the two communities after commencement ceremonies next Friday.

The school’s 110 graduates will be honored in an outdoor drive-in ceremony which is being held at Gunstock Mountain Resort, starting at 4 p.m.

Graduates and family members will remain in their vehicle for virtually all of the ceremony. There will be an opportunity for each graduate and their parents to leave the vehicle and go to the outdoor stage for a brief photo opportunity, according to school Principal Anthony Sperazzo.

Once the ceremony ends the graduates and those in the vehicle with them will then embark on a 20-mile parade taking them through parts of Gilford and Gilmanton — the two communities served by the school — ultimately ending at Gilmanton School. The parade route will run along Cherry Valley Road (Route 11A), Belknap Mountain Road, Goodwin Road, Hoyt Road, Wild Acres Road, Liberty Hill Road, Swain Road, Cotton Hill Road, Frank Bean Road, Route 107, and finally Route 140 to Gilmanton School.

Only vehicles carrying the graduates will be allowed to be in the parade. Sperazzo said those along the parade route are encouraged to decorate their lawns and or show some other sign of support for the graduates “who have lost so much” when the final months of their senior year were disrupted by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sperazzo said the Gilford, Laconia, Belmont, and Gilmanton police departments, as well as the Belknap County Sheriff’s Department have played an instrumental role in organizing the parade.

On Wednesday the seniors will be going to the school between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to a prearranged schedule, to drop off their school-issued electronic devices and other class materials. School staff members wearing gloves will then hand the seniors their caps and gowns, as well as their diplomas.

The materials which the seniors drop off will be placed in quarantine for several days after which the school staff will sanitize the materials before storing them away, Sperazzo explained.

The school has scheduled a virtual awards ceremony for Thursday at 6 p.m. A special link will be sent to parents. The program will also be live-streamed on Facebook and Twitter.