Once a year every spring, WLHS hosts their annual May Day celebration, that dates back nearly 100 years. Students, parents, and other members of the community gather to experience a showcase of student talent including acts of singing, dancing, acting and more.

This year, the theme of the event is “Cirque du May Day,” a theme that some students, like Taline Spengler, sophomore, believe is a reference to the popular movie “The Greatest Showman.”

“It’s similar to The Greatest Showman, which is cool,” Spengler said. “I really liked that movie, so I’m hoping the theme will incorporate some of the movies elements.”

One of the central parts of the May Day performance is the May Court, the group of seniors selected as leaders within their class and the WLHS community. These seniors have been hard at work in learning how to waltz and preparing to perform as a group, and Princess Peyton Todd, senior, knows that the groups hard work will pay off.

“I’m super looking forward to performing our dances; we’ve worked really hard.” Todd said. “I’m also so looking forward to watching the may pole and the rest of the performances.”

One of the other long-standing traditions within May Day is the may pole dance performed by a group of freshman girls. Similar to how the May Court presents a dance, a group of freshman girls, including Jenna Goodheart, freshman, volunteer to perform a may pole dance choreographed by an older student.

“It was a really good way to meet new people, as well as a really fun experience.” Goodheart said. “It’s also a unique way to be a part of May Day, in my opinion.”

For students not participating in the May Court or the may pole, there is the opportunity to perform a segment of student talent as well. Performances of student talents include singing original songs, performing magic tricks, presenting short skits and more. Izzy Englund, sophomore, will be singing in one of the student performances.

“I’m nervous, because I want to do good,” Englund said. “But I’m also excited because I think May Day is a fun way to exhibit everyone’s talents and bring our school community closer together.”

May Day 2019 will be hosted in the main gym for two performances, one at 1:30 on Friday and one later on in the evening at 7:30. Going into the event, Princess Bella Deeb, senior, is excited to show off what many students have been working hard on for the past few months.

“Going into May Day, I am really excited to show the school and community how hard May Court and ASB have been working for the past months,” Deeb said. “And I can’t wait to be a part of this amazing tradition at West Linn.”