2011 EHS Senior Party Fast Approaches

It is a longstanding tradition for Edina’s graduating seniors to spend their last night as high school students within the walls of the very school they’re saying goodbye to. The all-night party offers seniors a safe and inclusive opportunity to celebrate accomplishments, say goodbye and look forward to what’s ahead.  

June 14 will mark the 61st all-night senior party. Immediately following the commencement ceremony at Target Center, an estimated 90 percent of the graduating class will gather together in the halls of from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for event organizers are calling a "carnival for 18-year-olds." Karen Beese, communications chair for the 2011 Senior Party, said it will include everything from food and dancing to a casino and games. 

What makes this year’s party unique is that the Edina Senior Party has partnered with the Edina Community Foundation and has official nonprofit status. The party will include a community service project room, where graduates can make fleece tie blankets for homeless shelters, assemble birthday bags for VEAP (Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People) or write a thank you note to a past teacher or mentor who helped them reach this milestone. 

The Power of Nostalgia 

While not all of the volunteer committee members for the 2011 party are Edina graduates themselves, several are. Beese, an Edina transplant, said the party planning has provided opportunities to reminisce about Edina senior parties of the past. 

Kit Olson, a gifted resource teacher at and chair of the Party’s community service project, graduated from in 1973. She has six siblings who graduated from Edina as well, and a daughter who graduated in 2007 when the theme was “A Bonding Experience.”

She now looks forward to her son experiencing what is not just a family, but a community tradition. And while much of the focus is on the night of the party, Olson said the following morning is significant as well. 

“When they walk out from the high school that last time, they are alums,” Olson said. 

Community Open House 

As has been done in recent years, the public is invited to a community open house on the afternoon of graduation day. From 3 to 7 p.m. on June 14, friends and families are welcome to view the party that awaits the graduating seniors and be the first to discover this year’s secret theme.

Parent volunteers have been hard at work since the fall to plan the elaborate party, which transforms two floors of the high school and includes the anticipated senior "bodies"—life-size decorated cutouts of the graduating seniors. 

How You Can Help 

The 2011 Senior Party is accepting donations for VEAP birthday bags such as cake mix, frosting and candles; personal care items for VEAP; fleece for blankets; blank notecards and birthday cards; as well as monetary donations. Funds are needed in part to ensure that every graduating senior who wants to attend the party can do so. Tickets are $80 apiece, covering food, entertainment, raffle prizes and games; scholarship tickets are available and handled confidentially for those unable to afford the ticket price. 

Donations are being accepted through June 10 at any Edina school as well as , the , and the . Donations of birthday cake baking supplies and personal hygiene products will also be accepted at the community open house. Monetary donations are also accepted through the Edina Community Foundation website.