Melrose Grad Night Was All About The Class Of 2021

MELROSE, MA — It's a pretty safe bet the only place in Massachusetts where Sheryl Crow's 'Soak Up The Sun' was bumping just before midnight while teenagers played blackjack and inhaled fried dough — not to mention enjoyed a petting zoo, magician and giant inflatable thingies — was Melrose Grad Night 2021.

Friday's eighth annual Grad Night was pure celebration. It was the culmination of a year like no other for Melrose seniors — a rare opportunity to craft communal memories in a year without many chances to do so.

"It's great to have it for the kids because they've lost so much," Grand Night co-chair and chief organizer Michelle Carson said. "They've only been in school two years paractically. I think they're just itching to have something."

Music throbbed as kids fished for money ducks (or whatever 'What The Duck' is,) pet pigs and ordered iced coffees.

Just a few hours earlier they said goodbye to high school in a more formal way. The graduation was pushed back an hour due to weather concerns, but Grad Night started just on time — something like 11:15 p.m.

Even if some of the more than 90 percent of seniors (a record turnout) were late, they had plenty of time to make up for it. Grad Night became Grad Morning, ending at 5 a.m. Plenty of time to ride the mechanical bull across from the tattoo stand.

This year's event saw some 50 volunteers step up and ensure a fun, safe time. That's the whole point of the original Grad Night — something that started in Maine in the 1980's, Carson said — a way to celebrate the end of high school without the looming spectre of potentially bad decisions.

The only decisions graduates had to make Friday was whether to hit on 16 and how much powdered sugar to top their fried dough with.

Last year's event was still fun — it was entirely outdoors whereas this one moved inside at 3 a.m. — but it was still just a few months into the pandemic.

The biggest obstacle this time around was whether it would rain.

"This year was the fear of weather," Carson said, adding that moving the event back a night sort of would have defeated the purpose.

But the weather helped out. So did the Department of Public Works, Melrose police and everyone else who lent a hand.

The kids deserved it.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.