Alumni Banquet

The Alumni Banquet consists of the Fair Grove male students dressing up as girls. They play a little act as in a fashion show or a beauty pageant. Wearing wigs, dresses and even heels. Some will even put on makeup to pull off the whole look. Michael Allcorn, one who supervises and attends the banquets says, “It was a way for graduates to stay in touch with one another and celebrate a common heritage. Through the years the banquet has taken on many different facets. For instance, one year the prominent men of the community dressed up as women and put on a style show. The reviews were overwhelmingly hilarious.”

The banquet has been around for many years. Allcorn had an educated guess that the banquet started around the 1940’s and has continued to this day. “At some point in time the Alumni Association came into existence. There was a board of directors and officers were elected.  Today the Alumni Association has one yearly business meeting which is held just prior to the dinner. At this meeting officers are elected, president, vice-president and secretary/treasurer.” Allcorn continued, “ The recent tradition is for the current president to be in charge of putting on this years banquet with the vice-president being groomed to take over as president the following year, being put in charge of the banquet.

Many families come to watch the banquet. The children love seeing the boys dressing up, as they find it comical. The adults enjoy the entertainment. The banquet always has the audience’s attention from singing, dancing, and just overall having a fun time with the event. This event brings Fair Grove graduates back home to associate with the ones they grew up with. This year they have brought four World War II pilots who attended and graduated from Fair Grove high school.