An event so exciting, they set aside two days to recognize it, the high school’s 50th anniversary celebration began last week in downtown Riverbank. It continued on Friday, before, during and after the RHS football Homecoming Game activities.
A group of local RHS alumni organized the activities, adopting a theme, and a Facebook page, called “Riverbank High School - Fifty Looks Good On Us.” They put together an evening designated a Brew ‘n’ Bear Crawl, with parts of Santa Fe and Third streets blocked off for a time on Thursday.
The gathering included food and beverages at the Red Carpet Lounge or Pizza Plus, as well as a beer booth benefiting the RHS Bruin Boosters group, a Taco Tent, and RHS-themed fan apparel for sale.
Entertainment wise, a local band, including alumni brothers Mario Ramos on guitar and George Ramos on drums, performed on the stage in the Plaza del Rio Park. Called Los Punks, the band featured mariachi grunge style music. After the band, another RHS alumnus, Ralf Q CPT, served as DJ.
More than 50 RHS grads and families visited the Riverbank Historical Museum while it was open especially for them Thursday evening.
The 108 Sports Lounge was made available for an ‘after-party’ of sorts as well.
Since the evening featured adult beverages, the celebration activities were not hosted nor officially sponsored by the Riverbank Unified School District.
On Friday, some of the RHS alums gathered to participate in the Homecoming Parade through downtown streets, right after school.
That evening, as the junior varsity Homecoming Game was being played, a large group gathered for a reception at the Ray Fauria Memorial Gymnasium. The gym is dedicated to Fauria, the first principal at the high school, beginning when it opened in 1967. The gym was built in 2009, so some alumni may not have seen it before.
In the lobby of the gym, the group created a series of displays featuring articles from the early school newspaper, the Pacesetter, from yearbooks, and articles published in The Riverbank News about the construction and opening of the campus.
Just ahead of the varsity football game, the group moved to the track around the field, parading decade by decade around its circumference, finishing with a stretch in front of the home stands before taking their seats.
There was an ‘after-party’ at the 108 Lounge also scheduled that night, too.
According to alumni organizers, the events were successful, with Thursday night seeing about 100 celebrants, and nearly 200 alumni lined up for the parade around the track before the Homecoming game.
A representative of the group said it is possible another celebration could be organized for the basketball season’s Winter Homecoming early next year.
