After Quarantine: Traditional vs. student-hosted Harvest and Winter Formal

Throughout the month of October, students have come together to form an unforgettable event of the fall season: Harvest. In a typical school year, Harvest would be held by the school, although due to COVID-19 circumstances, students have decided to take the event into their own hands.

This year, freshmen were welcomed into the high school community. Sophomores, however, have finally been able to experience on-campus schooling. On the other hand, juniors and seniors have been able to make new memories and traditions with the challenges faced this academic year.

Freshman Ryan Harris was able to host a Harvest at his home this month. Friends were invited and the mood was joyful.

Being his first Harvest, Harris enjoyed sitting and eating with his friends at this unforgettable event. “It [hosting] means a lot and I’m looking forward to doing more things like this,” he says.

Sierra Sorensen, ’25 was invited to the Harris’ home-hosted Harvest, her first Harvest ever attended- a new experience into the glories of the high school realm.

Sorensen enjoyed dressing up alongside her peers and hanging out with friends. “That’s not something you get to do everyday,” she says.

She described this gathering as a “luxury.”

“I’m very lucky to be able to do things like this and to be a part of it. Dances like a Harvest is very rare; it’s more of a luxury.”

Sierra Sorensen, ’25 about Harvest

Along with October Harvest, another upcoming dance is Winter Formal. As her involvement with Harvest was positive, Sorensen hopes to attend Winter Formal with the same group she went to Harvest with around late November or December; preferably any time that her group decides on the date.

Instead of throwing a Winter Formal similar to Harvest, she and her friends believe that a party bus would be a cool and inventive way to host such an event.

Reese Huerta, ’25 was alongside Sorensen and Harris at their first Harvest. Huerta expresses her gratitude to be a part of something that incorporates her friends and high school tradition, especially considering the previous year with the Coronavirus.

“COVID couldn’t stop us from having a good time,” Huerta says.

Even though she did not host this Harvest personally, her impression of the Harvest was beyond extraordinary, “His [Harris’] house is beautiful and the setting was perfect,” she says.

As for Winter Formal, Huerta hopes to be a part of something similar to Harvest again. “If anything, probably in December,” she says.

Keira Bixler, ’24 was fortunate to throw an incredible Harvest with, “a fantastic group of friends,” she says.

Some of her close friends, Audrey Hyde, ’24, Brienna Burr, ’24, Samantha Brammer, ’24, and July Range, ’24 all hosted together, according to Bixler.

On this night to remember, Bixler reminisced on last year’s Harvest, which she and her friends had also hosted, but this time it was a new memory consisting of sitting around the fire making s’mores, taking many photos, and dancing.

As wonderful of a tradition Harvests are for Redwood High School, “It is such a wonderful way for everyone to grow closer,” Bixler says.

After the time Bixler and her friends had, a Winter Formal is already in plan and set to be some time in December.

Samantha Brammer, ’24 accompanied Bixler by attending this friend-thrown Harvest. “It’s super fun when you’re with the right kind of people,” she says.

Brammer enjoyed being a part of something that meant more than school. Taking into account the past year, she reflected on how she’s gotten the chance to make new friends and get closer with them.

Similar to Bixler, Brammer is already in the works of planning a Winter Formal and discussing who will host this event. “I’m planning on going with my friends and having an awesome time again with those people,” she says.

Savannah Torres, ’23 was fortunate to experience both a school and friend-hosted Harvest. During her freshman year in 2019, Torres explains how this year’s self-hosted Harvest differed.

“We were able to do a lot more and be able to go to an actual dance with a lot more people compared to just a small group of us this year,” Torres says.

Besides the amount of people alongside her during this year’s Harvest, she clarified what a great opportunity it was for making life-long memories.

Torres expresses, “Other schools around the U.S. and California do a Homecoming dance, but I think it’s really cool how Visalia gets to do a Harvest because it’s different and traditional.”

In recent discussion of Winter Formal, she does have plans for a self-hosted occasion with friends between the months of November and December.

With her involvement with the Redwood ASB program, and the district has yet to have stated an announcement, there hasn’t been clarification on whether a dance can take place indoors just yet.

“We are really hoping to have a Winter Formal dance this year, so ASB can plan and get excited to bring back our first dance after quarantine,” Torres says.

El Diamante Miner Trevor Hampel, ’23 attended with Torres and his close friends at their 2021 Harvest.

Alike Torres, Hampel also attended a school-hosted Harvest his freshman year.

Compared to this year, “The school-hosted Harvest is way larger, all the schools are attending at one high school; you’re able to have a different kind of fun when all the schools are in one spot. The personally-hosted Harvests was our way of trying to get the most out of our high school dances,” says Hampel.

Even though an ordinary year would allow for a grand school-hosted gathering, he still feels that this year’s friendly Harvest allowed for a “unique experience.”

“I definitely didn’t get the normal high school experience that everyone had, but this is my experience. So, I think I need to make the most of what was given to us.”

Miner Trevor Hampel, ’23

With Winter Formal plans in the air at the moment, Hampel is considering co-hosting alongside some of his friends, hopefully by the end of November before the Christmas season.

Hampel adds, “I wish we had some school-hosted dances again, I thought that it was a really good and fun experience.”

This Harvest night meant that he could, “forget all the bad, have fun, and have the full high school experience” with his closest friends.

Danelia Palma, ’23 was also attended alongside Torres and Hampel during this personalized Harvest event.

When she was a freshman, she too, attended a Harvest. Palma compared and contrasted the school-hosted Harvest to a friend-hosted gathering type.

“It just wasn’t the same; with hundreds of kids in one place. There is a different vibe. Pros? I knew everyone, it wasn’t crowded, and with a smaller group, you can do more or less of what you want,” Palma explains.

Being included in this experience, Palma explains it as a, “fun, relaxing night” spent with friends.

Tessa Hemphill, ’22 expressed her excitement for her memorable Harvest night by describing it as “awesome.”

Though she did not host one personally, one of her friends, Hannah Lanting, ’22 did at her house. “It was absolutely beautiful what they set up,” Hemphill says.

Hemphill shines a light on the realistic aspect of the extravagant event, “I can only imagine the stress of having so many people over at your house.”

Compared to her freshman year Harvest, this year was a completely different atmospheric and situational experience.

“An in-person dance held by the school is definitely a good experience, but I honestly see a lot of positives in hosting your own because your group can make the dance exactly what you want it to be,” Hemphill says.

Hemphill, along with her friends, have been trying to make their senior year a year to never forget. Lanting’s hosted Harvest was a chance to do something together for a final time.

Winter Formal is unplanned at the moment, but she hopes to do something again with her friends some time around November or December due to the overall reaction of Harvest. “I just hope to keep participating in as many events as I can for senior year,” says Lanting.

Jackson Ford, ’22 attended the friend-hosted harvest, Lanting being the hostess. Even if it was not a school-held event this year, “I think it turned out to be even more fun than if it were held by the school,” he says.

Not only did Ford have a great time, but he determined how he feels about personally-hosted Harvests compared to a school set-up.

“I believe the personally-hosted Harvests are better. The ones held by the school are not as enjoyable, and kind of hectic,” he says.

Bailey Nelson, ’22 was more than pleased with Lanting’s Harvest, as well. “It was so much fun. I loved getting together with my friends and dressing up,” she expresses.

As this is the last year of Nelson attending Redwood, she expresses how she feels to be a part of such a traditional, reinvented event, “I’m glad I still get to make memories and carry on traditions.”

With the upcoming dates for Winter Formal coming into mind, Nelson has also started planning and determining the possible dates for another iconic high school event.

Tags: dances, Donya Hassanshahi, harvest, Harvest Dance, opinion, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, winter formal