They might not have had a traditional cap and gown ceremony. They might not have had a group picture taken in front of the courthouse. They might not have received their diplomas from the hands of their principal and teachers. But it seemed that on June 12, the 2020 Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) graduating class had even a greater celebration than any other class before them.
The entire community came together to mark their achievements. Businesses decorated storefronts and people lined up along a graduation cruise night route to show their love and support.
With the cancellation of all graduation ceremonies throughout the province and numerous restrictions issued by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, no one expected much from this day a few weeks ago, and definitely no one could see it turn out so wonderful and exciting.
But Mike Keating, whose son Jamison was graduating along with 185 other ECS students, wasn’t ready to give up on celebrating the milestone for his and hundreds of other families in the community. So a month and a half prior to the day, when it became obvious that there would be no cap and gown graduation, despite the challenges, Keating still believed that not only could they pull it off, but they could actually do it safely. And the idea of an old and beautiful tradition, the cruise night, came into play.
“Me and Jamison (agreed) to go for a cruise because he was not having (a graduation ceremony), so I wanted to give him something. And then for me the idea (grew into) doing something for all the grads. And it snowballed,” recalled Keating in an interview with the Mercury.
The little family cruise developed into an all-out Estevan grad cruise night.
“The biggest thing was getting people on board with what I envisioned. And what happened (on Friday) was a million times bigger than my vision.”
It took a lot of time and work, but the effort he put into making this day special for the kids definitely paid off, turning the 2020 graduation into an unprecedented and unforgettable full-scale celebration of the ECS students, whose final school year fell on the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The emotions I never expect in a million years, when I left my house on Second Street and I turned on Fourth, to see the community of hundreds of people in their cars or standing on the sidewalk,” recalled Keating.
Many businesses in town decorated their store fronts well in advance, and others put up the signs only on Friday. One way or the other, by 7 p.m. the graduation cruise route was all dressed up with balloons, signs and pictures. Hundreds of people came out and spread out along the so-called “boot” route that had the cruisers start from the former Derrick Motor Inn, go down Fourth Street, turn right on 13th Avenue, go down Souris Avenue North up to Isabelle Street, where they made a loop to come back to the community, celebrating them on the sides of the streets.
“Every parking lot was full of cars, honking, and people were waving and had posters, and the fire department, and the city and everybody. I just never thought of that,” said Keating emotionally.
Heading out for the cruise night he expected to see some of the graduates cruising in their dressed-up vehicles down the streets that Keating and others decorated for them. In reality, the entire community partook in making this day special.
“I think, it turned into the most memorable (graduation) that they will remember forever,” said Keating.
“I couldn’t believe how big it was … There were hundreds people, but everybody was still doing social distancing. We had our small little groups and everything else. And everybody was being safe. And it was fun and exciting,” said Keating.
Fortunately, right before the date, the provincial government allowed bigger gatherings for graduations, which allowed the students to spend time with each other without breaking any regulations.
Some grads had their vehicles decorated, others rented limos and party buses. The public also joined the cruise night, bringing out their fancy rides and making the cruise even brighter. Even race cars could be seen driving down the streets that night, celebrating the grads.
The Estevan Police Service and Estevan RCMP were out there throughout the night ensuring everybody was safe.
Some students didn’t partake in activities, but their families still found ways to pay tribute to them through decorating their vehicles and joining the cruise or setting up celebratory displays by their houses.
Many grads chose to dress up, but high heels that traditionally spoil the day for most of the female graduates were skipped in favour of more comfortable footwear as the graduation turned out to be way more active than usual. A lot of students started the day with pictures. While the traditional all-class photo in front of the courthouse was not an option this year, many of them found other beautiful or meaningful locations in and around Estevan. Prior to cruise night, some grads also stopped by their early-years teachers to thank them for all they’ve given the kids.
While there was no grand march, all the grads were still acknowledged as their pictures were on digital displays in town during the cruise night. The ad time was given to the graduation committee by Estevan businesses, along with many other donations made by companies, the City of Estevan and private people, who wanted to ensure the grads receive the recognition they deserve despite the circumstances.
After the cruise night, instead of going to one big gathering, students spread out for many small grad parties with their closest friends.
Since the ceremony, Keating received hundreds of calls and messages from people thanking him for his efforts, but he said that if not for the incredible support from businesses and the community, none of it would be possible.
“Once again, this community showed how amazing it is to live in Estevan, and how everybody supports everybody when we put on a function like that. It’s just unbelievable with the support coming out like that. I still get tingles thinking of that.
“There are so many to thank. Anybody who dressed up their storefronts. Anybody that helped with decorations. Anybody that helped with signage. And just a big thank you to all the grads and hope they had fun. I just appreciate all the thankyous from everybody. I don’t need any praise, I wanted to do it for the graduates. And it was amazing.”
Keating added that he would love to see such cruise nights becoming a tradition again, as it used to be when he was graduating. But that will be up to future grads and their families.
