Sunday drivers might have noticed an uptick in traffic earlier than expected along Slocum Road as cars filled with members of Dartmouth High’s Class of 2021 took part in the district’s second annual rolling parade. 

Students decorated their vehicle of choice in streamers and balloons of green and white, with messages and names of colleges scrawled on, banners, and signs as they drove through South Dartmouth.

“There were a lot more people than I thought there’d be,” soon-to-be-graduate Kyleigh Wheaton said. “So many people along the sides.”

Along the route, students honked their horns as family members cheered and took photos — with some parents spraying their children’s rides.

“Oh, we had lots of fun with the silly string,” parent Anne-Marie Kerney said, adding that if a parade happens next year, she’d like to see floats to slow the pace a bit.

The idea of holding a parade began last year as a socially distanced response to the pandemic, but it was so well-received that it was brought back as part of the district’s “21 for 21” campaign to honor this year’s senior class. 

“I knew once we did it, it was too successful,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bonny Gifford laughed at a May 17 School Committee meeting.

Kerney said despite the morning start for the parade, her son J.P. was more than excited to get to the high school parking lot at around 7:30 a.m. to help decorate his ride for the parade.

“He got right up,” she said. “They’re all pretty pumped up.”

Wheaton echoed that sentiment, noting that “we usually wake up early for school anyway.” 

She added that of all the senior celebrations this spring — including the “Dartmouth’s Finest” competition, ice cream socials, and a formal dinner at White's of Westport to replace the usual prom — the parade was easily her favorite event so far.

“It was just super fun and great to see everybody,” she said.

Fellow parade-goer Beth Canniff agreed, saying that it was “nice to do fun things outside again without a mask” and to cheer on her son Sam as he drove past.

“It flew by,” she said, about both the parade and her son’s time in high school.

Future celebrations include senior farewells, a stroll through their elementary schools and Dartmouth Middle School, a picnic, and the commencement ceremony on June 6.