Fake snow, Christmas music, and mildly creepy Grinches- it’s all part of the Columbus Indiana Festival of Lights Parade every year. With over a hundred carefully prepared floats it’s a great community event for students to attend and participate in. Senior Jacqueline Hernandez talks about her involvement. 

“I’ve participated in it once. Last year and this year.” Hernandez is in the parade due to her enrollment in C4 classes. She has been in C4 classes since her sophomore year, and has been an ambassador since her Junior year.   

“I’m in the graphic design pathway. Most of the time we’re working on projects on computers. Sometimes we do projects and send them to the laser printer. Sometimes we’ll print T-shirts. The various types of items in our class help us do types of projects that are very fun.” Hernandez says. Along with being a part of C4, there are other requirements to participate. Hernandez explains how to get involved. 

“For the parade, you would have to be an ambassador. You would be sent a form to fill out to participate in the parade. That way we know who’s going to go and who will participate. To be in C4 you would have to take a class that’s offered here at North, at East, or McDowell. To get the opportunity to explore various types of classes that you might not have around anywhere else.” Hernandez says. 

Hernandez along with other C4 ambassadors work together to create a C4 float worthy of the parade. The process takes a little over two weeks and requires planning. 

“With our class, we get a lot of projects that tend to stack up on top of each other. So with the parade, we have to make time for it. It is definitely a priority so we try and push everything else back and we start working on top of it. So we start making the buttons and stickers whatever it is.” Hernandez says. Even though it’s a long stressful process Hernandez believes it’s worth it. 

“My favorite part of the parade is probably seeing how the little kids cheer up when we give them candy. They will literally be bouncing on top of each other trying to get some. And so it’s just fun to see them get super excited.” The Festival of Lights parade features many floats designed to help advertise specific businesses while being entertaining and fun for community members. Hernandez elaborates on advertising for C4. 

“It helps advertising by expanding it (C4) to more than just the students. So it reaches their parents too. Because obviously, it’s in the building so it’s not open to the public. Parents are mostly left out in the dark so being able to see it in a festival they are able to start looking into the future for their kids.” C4 doesn’t only provide communal experiences for ambassadors. It also creates a tight-knit environment within the class.  

“C4 has given me a place to go and feel safe at. It’s also helped me make a lot of friends. Especially with my class since I have it every day. I have a connection a lot closer with people in the class than I would with people I only see every other day.” Hernandez says. The long preparation process ends with a spectacle of elaborately decorated floats that last less than an hour. “Just enjoy it because it goes by very quickly,” Hernandez says.