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By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY – Although the COVID-19 quarantine cast a shadow over their last semester of high school, Westminster School at Oak Mountain seniors likely won’t want to forget the special parade held in their honor.

On the night of Friday, May 1, seniors and their families spread out in the parking lot of Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church and watched car after car pass by to congratulate members of the Class of 2020 in the first-ever Senior Knight Drive-Thru Parade.

“It was an hour-long drive-thru parade, and it was bumper-to-bumper the whole time,” School Events Coordinator Megean Carter said. “God was good.”

Carter said the parade allowed well-wishers to share celebratory signs and messages with the school’s 32 seniors and their immediate family members from their cars in keeping with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.

Each senior had a sign in front of his or her tailgate spot in the parking lot, and many decorated their areas with balloons and college memorabilia.

Steel City Pops even served treats to attendees from a drive-thru station.

“It was a really fun night,” Carter said. “It was a really cool way to celebrate our seniors without breaking the restrictions.”

Carter said the school plans to make the parade an annual event, especially considering the positive feedback this year’s parade received from students and their parents.

“They were so grateful,” Carter said. “I just think it meant a lot to them. It’s a disappointing time, and I think it was a big boost for them.”