Graduation ceremonies return in new venues

MANKATO — High school graduates in Mankato will once again get to accept their diplomas in front of all their classmates and family members.The pandemic pushed graduation ceremonies into virtual, drive-in and other unique formats last spring. Minnesota State University and South Central College also held alternative observances for their graduates again this spring.But Mankato high schools are returning to more traditional ceremonies — with new venues and other coronavirus precautions. Loyola Catholic School seniors will be the first to walk to the “Pomp and Circumstance Marches” on Sunday evening.Weather permitting, the ceremony will be held outdoors on the football field. The stands have enough capacity that Principal Adam Bemmels said the 25 graduates can invite as many friends and families as they like and no masks will be required.If it rains, the ceremony will move indoors to its traditional location, the school gymnasium. Attendance then would be limited to six guests per graduate and masks would be required.A livestream of the ceremony also will be broadcast at vimeo.com/loyolacatholicschool.Seniors at East and West high schools will walk across a stage at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center this year. Both ceremonies will be June 4, with Cougars celebrating at…
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