Masks, costumes, kings, and queens. On Friday, October 20, a record-breaking number of students enjoyed another successful homecoming dance at Cherry Hill High School East. The only school dance where all grades are invited, Homecoming is East’s most widely attended dance of the year. This year’s turnout of 1.174 students did not disappoint.
The school’s Student Government Association (SGA) and the Thespian Society began working together over the summer to plan a masquerade themed homecoming dance, called Hocorade. This encourages students who don’t celebrate Halloween to attend the dance and partake in an eventful evening with their peers.
“SGA worked with Thespian Society to determine the theme, activities, decor, and food. Most of the success came from all the people who came together to help out”, said Crystal Yeh (‘24), Student Government Association President.
Planning this year’s dance was similar to last year since the masquerade theme was the same. For an additional two dollars upon purchasing their standard 10 dollar tickets, students could purchase a masquerade mask to go along with their outfits and costumes for the dance. These masks were delivered to the students who purchased them throughout the day of the dance.
East staff and administrators began admitting students at the student entrance promptly at 7 pm, while distributing two tickets to vote for the Homecoming King and Queen. Students casted their votes with their friends and made their way into the cafeterias to begin dancing.
This year’s homecoming dance was held in both cafeterias, with the courtyard being used as an open space for friends to sit, relax, and hangout with their classmates.

“Thespian Society helped set up the decorations [for the cafeterias] and brought in food donations, and SGA representatives and class officers helped with food donations and the cleaning up of decorations,” said Yeh.
Snacks and refreshments were served in Cafeteria 1 throughout the night, including soft pretzels, Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, chips and other snacks, and an assortment of various types of cookies. Lines at the photobooth, also located in Cafeteria 1, were long throughout the night with students waiting to take pictures with their friends. In Cafeteria 2, the dance floor was packed with students excitedly dancing with their friends.
In addition to all of the typical homecoming festivities, this year was the first Homecoming dance to include a costume contest. This inspired students to arrive in their best Halloween costumes, including a range from princess costumes to dark and scary makeup.
At around 9 pm, Aaliyah Mezilus (‘24) was named Homecoming Queen and Pablo Hernandez (‘24) was named Homecoming King, adding to the overall excitement of the dance.
The majority of students stayed until when the dance concluded, around 10 pm. Many students enjoyed the 2023 homecoming dance and it will definitely be a night to remember for all who attended.