Grads Party All Night; Parents Love It

With whoops of joy, thousands of Orange County high school students shifted their tassels this week and graduated into adulthood. But they postponed their journeys into the real world for all-night detours into elaborate fantasy lands--all courtesy of their parents.

Throughout the county, many students enjoyed imaginative grad night parties, but with two key requirements: no alcohol was to be served during the parties, and participants were asked to stay for the duration, which usually lasted till early in the morning.

Newport Harbor students put on their best western duds and ten-gallon hats before venturing into a darkened, cavernous tunnel that led to what was a simple high school courtyard. Inside they discovered an elaborate re-creation of the Old West, complete with country dancing, hay on the floor and an occasional shoot-out--with cap guns, of course.

It was the fourth successful grad night party for Newport Harbor students, topped off with a “hoe-down” dance hall in the girls’ gym, a full-scale wooden town square in the quad and a lively casino in the boys’ gym.

“When you walk in, I mean you know all these places, but I did not know where I was,” said Newport Harbor student Michelle Mulheron, 18, who was graduated Thursday.

“I could not figure out how to get to the boys’ gym or the girls’ gym. People asked me where the bathroom was; I told them ‘in the barn.’ ”

The scene was much the same at about half a dozen other county schools that joined the phenomenon of all-night, alcohol-free grad parties, each with a separate theme.

Corona del Mar paid tribute to Hollywood with a “prime time” motif. Students walked through a giant television to get into the party and were provided a “TV Guide” to direct them to the various activities.

At the “Fantasy Island” set, Mr. Roarke and Tattoo--a 12-year-old friend-of-a-friend recruited to wear the all-white tux--gave away hundreds of prizes all night, including color televisions, airline tickets and the grand prize: a bright-red refurbished 1956 MG Roadster.

At the “Happy Days” set, teen-agers could sit down, get something to eat and visit with their friend “Fonzie,” who on most days is 23-year veteran Spanish teacher Ken Fish.

“The funny thing is I haven’t seen many episodes of ‘Happy Days,’ ” said Fish, who was drafted by parents two weeks ago. “I didn’t know what to do.”

“It’s mind-boggling,” Corona del Mar parent Penny McManigal said of the preparations. “I wish somebody had invited me to a party like that when I was that age.”

With dancing, carnival games, casino tables and hourly entertainment ranging from mock shoot-outs to magic acts, the Orange County parties were buzzing from beginning to end. Each of the schools brought in dozens of professional performers, including live bands, mimes, jugglers, magicians, fortune tellers, dance instructors and look-alikes of such stars as Tina Turner, Willy Nelson, Dolly Parton, Madonna and the stunt man who “flew” into the party at Corona del Mar as Superman.

At Laguna Beach High, four fathers donated all the food and labor for hundreds of breakfasts served at 4:30 a.m. The raw supplies alone included 1,100 tortillas, 35 quarts of homemade frijoles and 60 pounds of carnitas.

“They did a damn good job,” said one student. “Enough food to last a lifetime, cookies galore!”

Theme grad parties were well received.

‘Having a Great Time’

“I think it’s a good idea. It keeps a lot of people out of trouble and everybody’s having a great time,” said Newport Harbor grad Lauri Pando, decked out in an authentic looking saloon girl costume--complete with the feather for her hair--that she rented for $40.

While her girlfriends said they wished they could have brought boyfriends from other schools, Pando, 18, defended the arrangement.

“I like it the way it is ‘cause that way you’re closer. It’s like you’re a family or something. It’s the last time we’re all going to be together.”

At Newport Harbor, the 35-member parent committee spent $15,000, brought in four general contractors and used the services of seven artistic parents, as well as carpenters, electricians and numerous professional performers.

“It’s one of the most impressive experiences I’ve ever had,” said Mike Dorman, who was in charge of entertainment for Newport Harbor. “Parents of seniors aren’t supposed to be here, but a bunch of us found something that ‘needed to be done.’

“But that’s not the entire truth,” he added. “We wanted to be here and see it all come together.”

Parents at the grad night parties seemed to enjoy themselves as much as their sons and daughters. In fact, the Newport Harbor parents had such a good time creating the sets, they decided to throw an encore party the following night--for themselves.

Students and parents agreed that the theme parties are safer than traditional grad night carousing. They also said it was more enjoyable for students to have one last chance to see all their friends, before they leave.

One volunteer at Laguna Beach’s dunking machine, who was dunked dozens of times in an hour, said he enjoyed taunting his fellow seniors into hitting the bull’s-eye with the baseball.

“You bet. I’m having a ball,” he shouted to passing friends. “I’m making fun of people I don’t even know now!”

Security was generally tight. Parent “guards” were placed at each exit to make sure students didn’t sneak away from the parties and then come back. Graduates who did leave before the parties ended around 5 a.m. were walked to their cars and had their parents called “to let them know they’re loose,” according to one parent.

Some Discontent

Not everyone enjoyed being “cooped up,” as one student put it.

“It got old after the first 20 minutes, I thought,” said Joe Andranian, 17, a graduate of Newport Harbor. “They should’ve let us leave whenever we felt like it, then it wouldn’t have been that bad. As it is they’re boxing us in here till 4.”

As the parties wound down and students began drifting out the doors, Laguna Beach parents summed up the general theme of the parent-sponsored, alcohol-free night, when they showed an old Disney cartoon that included Jiminy Cricket’s classic song:

“I’m no fool, nosiree, I wanna live to be 103. I play it safe for you and me, cause I’m no fool.”