For as long as students and Faculty can remember, the annual Hillgrove pre-game bonfire has taken place every Thursday before the McEachern football game that following Friday. The “Battle down in Powder Town” is the season’s most significant game for both schools to determine who dominates Powder Springs. Unfortunately, there won’t be any flames seen from the Hillgrove parking lot this year.
The bonfire has served to get the students fired up about facing their rival by getting together to watch Hillgrove clubs and organizations and bond over the deep rooted rivalry. This year the annual bonfire has been cancelled due to the extreme drought Georgia is facing. With the last rain being recorded over two weeks ago, conditions do not meet the requirements needed for the fire department to issue fire permits.
Mrs. Radford, director of the annual event, reports that in order to obtain a permit, “You call the fire marshal's department, and they schedule with their fire marshals to come out and they have to inspect the sight. They check, first of all, to see what you’re burning, where it’s located (it has to be located a certain distance between any building or structure), you have to have a fire hose that will totally surround the area that you’re burning, and they usually come out one to two days before the event.”
Being described as an “outdoor pep rally”, the bonfire would consist of student-centered entertainment.
“ The Dance team was going to perform, we were going to have the drum line…” says senior student government officer, Lauryn Pruitt.
After years of diss tracks and throwing baby powder, the Hawks will be going into the biggest game of the season without a pre-game bonfire. However, players, students and everyone in the Powder Springs area are as pumped up for the game as ever. Bonfire or not, Hillgrove will be cheering ‘GGOD’ all through the night!