Glory Days coming!

Next weekend, Holton High School alumni will return to their hometown and alma mater to relive their “Glory Days” in the annual event that also draws classic car enthusiasts and arts and crafts fans to Holton’s Town Square.

The big events remain the HHS Alumni Banquet and the Holton/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce’s Glory Days car show and activities on the Square, both set for Saturday, May 24. It’s also the unofficial kick-off for the summer season in town, including the opening of the 2025 season at the Holton Municipal Swimming Pool and Memorial Day weekend activities with local veterans’ groups.

Linda Clements, representing the HHS Alumni Association, said tickets are still available for the Alumni Banquet, to be held that evening at the Northeast Kansas Heritage Complex’s Heritage Hall.

“Ticket sales are picking up,” said Clements, a member of the HHS Class of 1982. “We’re a little under last year at this point, but the last week they are on sale is usually the week it goes crazy.”

This Sunday, May 18 is the deadline for purchasing banquet tickets, which are available at Denison State Bank, GNBank Holton, Beverley Brown and Co. and through Venmo (HoltonHSAlumni@HoltonHSAlumni). Clements noted that tickets purchased through Venmo may be picked up at the door, but no banquet tickets will be sold at the door.

This year’s banquet will once again be catered by Boomers’ Steakhouse and Catering, and the menu for the banquet includes lemon chicken picado with garlic mashed potatoes, spring green beans, fresh garden salad, homemade rolls with butter and signature alumni desserts, Clements said.

“We will also have a new alumni signature drink at the social hour,” she added.

Tickets are $30 for the social hour and banquet; $35 for the social hour, banquet and after-party; and $5 just for the social hour or after-party. The social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. on May 24, followed by the banquet at 6:30 p.m. and after-party at 9 p.m.

Holton High School will be open starting at 9 a.m. that day for alumni wanting to take a tour of their alma mater, Clements said.

“This will allow plenty of time for tours and to allow people to get ready for the alumni parade,” she added.

The alumni parade, a key feature of the Glory Days celebration, will be different this year. The parade will take off from the HHS east parking lot at 11 a.m., making its way down New York Avenue and around three sides of the Square, then turning around and heading back around, reversing the same route to HHS.

“This way, people can see both sides of the floats. We don’t want them to leave after we go by the first time around!” said Clements, who noted that class participation need not be limited to “five-year” classes, such as 1975, 1980, 1985 and so on.

One aspect of the Alumni Banquet that will continue is the sponsorship program, which Clements said began as a “class challenge” to raise funds for the banquet. There will also be a class competition for alumni weekend activities, with points awarded for each activity that classes compete in, including decorated windows at businesses around the Square, the alumni parade, attendance at the banquet and class sponsorships.

Members of the Alumni Association will also be stationed in front of Denison State Bank on the west side of the Square to sell “alumni swag,” including T-shirts, sweatshirts, pennants, foam footballs and insulated cups, from 9 a.m. to noon that day.

As for the Chamber’s “Glory Days” activities, those activities will begin at 8 a.m. with the raising of the flag and car show registration opening at that time, according to Chamber director Ashlee York. Classic cars, trucks and other vehicles will arrive at that time, and registration will close at 11 a.m.

“The ‘early bird’ discount is closed, but we’re still accepting pre-registrations for the car show,” said York, who noted that pre-registrations may still be made by calling the Chamber office at (785) 364-3963 or online at exploreholton.com

York also noted that arts and crafts vendors in the area may still register for participation on the south side of the Jackson County Courtyard by calling the Chamber office or registering online. So far, she said, more than 40 vendors have signed up for the event.

“We’re not accepting any more food trucks or food and beverage-type vendors, because that category’s pretty saturated,” York said. “Outside of that, there’s going to be a lot of variety there.”

More information on next weekend’s activities will be featured in the May 21 edition of The Holton Recorder.