Twenty-nine hours of painting, framing, and an ornate paper flower assembly line later, the senior “Mamma Mia” float was complete. The collaborative project showcased the close cooperation, and skill from the students, parent volunteers, and faculty. 

Under the leadership of Payton Griffin, a senior at Granite Bay High School, a team of students have been diligently working on the creation of bringing the senior homecoming float to life. 

“We’ve learned from the rubric that judges look for the small things,” Griffin explained. 

The seniors applied shades of vibrant blue to the doors, windows, and shutters in order to capture the essence of the theme. To give the float a floral, tropical setting, they created several flowers and vines out of tissue paper. In order to reflect grease, they attached posters to the windows. 

The journey to bring the “Mamma Mia” float to life began when students came together to brainstorm ideas and sketch out their vision. Once the framing was completed, the seniors embarked on the task of painting it white. They were unsure if the float would come together or not because it was a blank white canvas with a lack of detail that the judges were requesting. It was the addition of subtle details that transformed the float into representation of the iconic Greece. It was the attention to detail that breathed life into the float. Posters, paper flowers, and vines were added, layer by layer, until the float truly looked like a vibrant, living homage to the “Mamma Mia” theme.

“It was challenging having fluctuating numbers of people showing up to the builds.  There were days when we had a lot to accomplish but not enough people to help, and the other way around,” Griffin said.

A few National Charity League moms stopped by to see the float and ended up giving items like tiles and shutters. This sparked a burst of creativity, and everyone began pitching ideas. This was a favorite part of the float building process for most of the people involved because it was at this point that the float began to come together just how they wanted it to.

“Some students return every day, but new students arrive and ask how they can help. I think it’s been a great inclusiveness for the community,” Desiree Miller, one of the senior class advisers and dance teacher, said.

Miller emphasized the sense of community that came up as parents and students worked together to bring the float to life. The process of making the float demonstrated not only student dedication but also community participation.