By Maddie Cairns

From February 15-24, the 67^th annual Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival is coming back to the desert. “Finally, the fair is back and I get to enjoy all the food and rides that I wait for every year,” responds Ally Jenkins (10).  Nobody could overlook the delicious deep -fried Oreos or other fair foods that are only around ten days of the year. There are also several performances that you don’t want to miss.

Main headliners for the festival include Lifehouse, Wynonna & the Big Noise, Voz de Mando, Aaron Lewis, and Super Fiesta featuring Grammy award -winning Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. All headliner entertainment is included with the price of general admission.

The Grandstand Area includes shows like Bull-O-Rama, Monster Trucks & Freestyle Motorcross, Demolition Derby, and camel and ostrich races. There are also tribute shows to Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Buffet, and Dean Martin.  Let’s not forget the fun carnival rides for adults and children. There are also art shows for valley schools, farmers markets and animal displays with goats, pigs and cows to please every age.

Early ticket sales are until midnight on February 15, but you can buy them at the door for the same price as last year.  At the gate, it is $25 for unlimited rides, $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for youth, and $7 a day parking. In advance, all ticket sales are a dollar less except you are buying an unlimited ride pass which is $20. You can only buy advance tickets online.

BY Chloe Strickland

Do you know who’s running? In the senior category, one of the runners, of the six, are Geoffrey McManus. “I didn’t even know I was nominated until just now,” he said surprised as we asked him how he felt about being chosen.

McManus does not plan on promoting himself at all, and letting the student body vote for him themselves.

If you’d like to vote for Geoffrey McManus, or any of the Winter Ball Nominees, you can got to the ASB office and vote during lunch or after school while buying your ticket.

By Alexis Rocha

We interviewed sophomore nominee, Alexis Range, to get to get her incite on being chosen for winter ball court. “I still can’t believe I got nominated for winter ball this year. I am very excited,” said Range.

Range said she ran just for fun and not to get anything from it. “Just for the experience,” she said.

She isnt really doing much to get the word out there for people to vote for her;  all she is doing is telling a couple of her friends to vote and to tell other people about her being nominated.

So who are you going to vote for? If you’d like to vote for Alexis Range, or any of the Winter Ball Nominees, you can go to the ASB office and vote for your choice during lunch or after school while buying your ticket.

By Alexis Rocha and Chloe Strickland

Have you voted for the Winter Ball Court yet?

If you haven’t, the nominations are:
Freshmen – Casey Cruz, Jaret Prahl, Nick Sloan, Kayce Armerentos, Isabel Mateus, and Courtlyn O’ Grady

Sophomores – Luis Castellanos, Chris Rom- Toribio, Alec Steele, Taylor Franco, Alexis Range, and Vivian Vo

Juniors – Francisco Olivian, Adam Luna, Gio Viera, Elauna Aguilar, Brittney Alcaraz, and Andi Newport

Senior – Shane Archer, Geoffrey McManus, Isaiah Verazas, Cassandra Durkee, Madison McFarlane, and Amanda Torres

The nominees are not aloud to do self-promotion with stickers or posters. The only way to self-promote is to tell friends, and their friends tell other friends, and so on to vote for them. “One year a kid came and put stickers all over campus and we had to go and scrape them all off,” said ASB Adviser Tom Jenkins as to why self-promotion is frowned upon.

If you haven’t voted, be sure to go to the ASB office and do so at lunch, or after school.

By Cassidy Sipe

The My Little Brony Club is planning on a trip to The Living Desert. The date is still unofficial but will most likely be on Sunday the 16th of December. They have been planning this trip since August and are very excited. As I interviewed Andrew Davis he stated, “We know the weather has changed and gotten colder but we hope to see as many animals as possible.”

The club members are very excited to go even if they don’t get to see much because they are all getting to hangout. Davis stated “Each student will have to pay $17.25 for their ticket and hopefully we can get a parent to make lunches for us so we don’t have to pay for the expensive food.”

The club also plans on trying to do a canned food drive to help support families in homeless shelters. They also want to do a toy drive around Christmas for the families that can’t afford gifts for their children.

“Our club has thirty members and about ten are able to go so far,” Davis stated. Last year they would meet after school or walk all together to McDonalds. They would all talk about the show and the events that were going on.

Andrew stated “ The club just isn’t about a show we love to hangout and meet new people.”

By Chloe Strickland

Are you in LQHS’s Friday Night Live? Did you go on the Six Flags field trip? On Saturday, November 3rd, Friday Night Live’s teacher, Mrs. Chesbrough and her 50 students left the school parking lot at 6:35am sharp.

Two of the students in the club that went included Elaine Sato and Kiara Olivares. Olivares was sure to wake her friend up at 5:00 am over the telephone. The two friends met with each other to be sure they got to sit with together on the bus.

Olivares said the bus ride was the most memorable, “It was funny ”because everyone was in a mood and we kept on yelling at people to be quiet.” “We were all trying to sleep, but this group kept being too loud,” said Sato.

“My least favorite ride was the Goliath because we got stuck on that one,” said Sato as Olivares laughed. “I didn’t like the Scream because I don’t like all the turns,” said Olivares. Sato on the other hand did enjoy the Scream. Oliveres got a Superman shirt as a souvenir for a memory of the good time.

“The trip was really good,” said Olivares as she laughed along side with Sato. “The trip was amazing; we had so much fun. It’s definitely something I want to do next year,” said Sato.

By Marcos Rubalcava

Halloween Horror Nights is coming back from the dead this October at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Orlando. The event originally began in 1991, at Universal Studios Orlando, and in 1997 for Universal Studios Hollywood. The event held many different themes each year, including Friday the 13^th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This year the themes will vary from the Silent Hill Franchise to the Walking Dead Series. Excitement for this year’s Horror Nights has gone through the roofs, as proved by the sales of the event.

This year, the mazes and Scare Zones were focused on the horror franchises Silent Hill, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Walking Dead, and La Llorna. The Halloween show this year is Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure. Event attendee Raquel Delgado was interviewed on his experience during his visit. When asked what Scare Zones he went through and how he thought of the park overall, responding “I went through all the Scare Zones and mazes of the park, they were scarier because of the unexpectedness of people or objects popping out.” Delgado also commented on the changes of the rides during the event “being very minor changes,” such as rides being darker.

As many days of the event are on weekends only, the only chance people can attend will be on the 18^th, 20^th, and 25^th of October to save $10, the 19^th and 26^th of October to save $5, the 21^st to save $15, the 31^st to save $25, and all other weekends at regular price. The park staff also recommends buying online early as tickets sell out fast, so event attendees will need to be quick to save their spot to head to the park. As the event has been on for over 20 years, many of its attendees have had a heart stopping time there with the park’s many mazes and Scare Zones, and the tradition is certain to continue with many of horror’s franchises.

By Alex Gomez

Apart from the myriad of summer assignments students and teachers have during the three month vacation, these four LQ globe trotters took the meaning of exploration to a bit of an extreme level.

Alison Sexson

This past summer, Alison Sexson (11) visited her 48^th state and her 28^th big league baseball stadium with her family in their annual journeys across America. She has been traveling since she was in elementary school because her parents felt that her education should extend beyond past the classroom setting.

This summer the Sexson family traveled north through Oregon visiting colleges and viewing the Olympic Track trials in Eugene. In Seattle, Washington, they purchased coffee everyday from the first Starbucks Coffee shop.

After Washington, the Sexsons drove through the tip of Idaho and on to Montana where they boarded a plane to Florida. While there, they saw alligators in the Everglades and stopped at author Ernest Hemingway’s vacation house in Key West.

Traveling has given Sexson a personality that reflects all the culture America has to offer. She states, “These trips have helped me appreciate American history and the world around me.”

Schuler

La Quinta’s very own history buff Ms. Schuler, and her daughter Annie Schuler – an alumna of La Quinta High – spent part of their summer on a Baltic tour of Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Russia.

Commenting on her trip, Ms. Schuler stated that her favorite part was traveling to Russia and noticing all the Art Nouveau architecture in parts of St. Petersburg. “I found it fascinating that the Communists had not torn down the artistic buildings but renovated them” she noticed. Another area that she found culturally intriguing was the world’s largest station, the Moscow Train Station which the Communists built as an ode to the common people.

It’s obvious that this history teacher has more to offer than a degree in education, but also experiences that can only be achieved firsthand.

Duke

As always, La Quinta High librarian Mr. Duke took his summer trip to an extravagant far land. This year, he took a 14-day cruise all the way up the coast of Alaska. In Seattle, Washington Mr. Duke boarded the ship for his Alaskan getaway.

One of the most exciting parts of his adventure was crab fishing on the Aleutian Ballad, a boat featured on The Discovery Channel’s second season of The Deadliest Catch, with Captain Derrick Ray. Fortunately, LQ’s globetrotting librarian was able to return without tales of stormy nights and deadly catches. 

Wyatt

The energy Wyatt Seaman (12) felt as he entered the Olympic building in London, England must have been over-the top and exciting.

Seaman and his family went to England over the summer to visit relatives, but along with the visits, they also went to watch the Olympics. Wyatt and his family viewed women’s water polo, women’s soccer and Michael Phelps’ last race, where he received his record 22^nd medal and marked the end of his career.

A highlight of his trip was when he actually conversed with Team USA water polo goalie Chay Lapin who was sitting next to him during another Olympic event. When asked about his own reaction to witnessing Phelps’ success, Wyatt responded, “When Michael Phelps went to get his medal…he looked as if nothing happened; he was very humble.”

By Sammi Seems

The 3rdannual Senior Sunrise took place on the visitors’ side bleachers with around 250 students from the Class of 2013 on Tuesday, September 18 at 6 a.m. The senior sunrise is a yearly get-together for the senior class to watch the sun rise, and it is followed by the senior sunset in May to mark the closing of senior year.

ASB hosted the event and Sloan’s catered with muffins, donuts, burritos, hashbrowns, and orange juice. ASB Senior Class President Audrey Hunter was the first to speak and introduced Mr. Adler who jokingly talked about recently becoming a “senior citizen.” Ms. Maciosek spoke after him and told the class, “Go out and make some memories. Class of 2013, I love ya!” Ms. Thornberry and Ms. Bickford also both cheered on the gathering of the seniors.

Ms. Austad and senior Megan Francis (12) wrapped up the event both singing different songs to the class. Ms. Austad sang a song that she wrote herself for the event and Megan sang, “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas. Senior Vice President Hannah McCune (12) commented on the sunrise, “It was a great way for the seniors to get together and bond, but mostly to start the year off together and right.”

Check out this video:

One of the benefits of purchasing a personalized yearbook was getting it delivered to your 1st period class on Monday morning. Many of the students that bought a personalized yearbook, liked the idea of getting the books delivered to them because they didn’t have to wait in line with many other kids who were also getting their yearbook.   So what’s better than getting your yearbook personalized and having it delivered to your class? Keep it in mind for next years yearbook!