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On Saturday, Oct. 28, the Class of 2024 participated in Wayland’s eighth annual Progressive Dinner. Progressive Dinner is an event that the entire senior class is invited to, and is meant to give seniors an opportunity to spend time together and bond during the fall of their last year of high school. Seniors travel between three of their classmates’ houses for appetizers, entrees and dessert. This year, the dinner was held from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
This senior class event was started in 2014 by Latin teacher and current Class of 2024 adviser Lee Krasnoo.
Prior to 2014, the senior class did not have a fall class event, so Krasnoo built this dinner with the intentions of bringing the senior class together towards the beginning of the year.
“Before I came to Wayland, I taught at Marblehead High School,” Krasnoo said. “They had been doing the Progressive Dinner there for many years and I thought it was one of their nicest traditions. I wanted to bring that great tradition to Wayland.”
Now, the dinner is a tradition for seniors in Wayland. However, instead of parents planning the event like in past years, students and the senior class advisors, Krasnoo and History teacher Sarah Lee, planned and led Progressive Dinner. Krasnoo was the head of preparations and logistics that went into making the dinner. He collaborated with the families who hosted the meals to plan each stage of the event.
“I think the dinner being a school event [helps] keeps the students safe, which is all we cared about in the end,” Senior Class President Andrew Medeiros said.
Due to COVID-19, the 2021 and 2022 Progressive Dinners were walkable, meaning the houses that hosted each meal were within walking distance from one another. However, this was not the case this year, as some WHS administrators believed it was fair to have a variety of spots in Wayland share the occasion. Because of this, students drove to each house and were encouraged to carpool.
Another difference that distinguished this year’s Progressive Dinner was the usual cold weather being replaced with temperatures over 70 degrees. Because Progressive Dinner is traditionally a late fall event, seniors plan to dress to accommodate the cold. When the weather forecast was abnormally warm, students who were expecting to dress in sweaters and pants had to switch it up. Because the attire for the event was labeled as semi-formal, finding the right outfit was tricky for some seniors.
“I was disappointed by the weather since it’s just harder for me to pick out a formal outfit without long sleeves or leather, especially during a fall event,” senior Hayley Shaw said.
Although some students were upset by this change in weather, others were excited. Senior Lilly O’Driscoll thought the weather was perfect for the dinner.
“It was definitely easier to pick out an outfit because I’m more of a warm weather girl, and it’s just easier for me to style for warm weather,” O’Driscoll said. “I was actually really happy.”
O’Driscoll and her classmates traveled to all three houses for appetizers, dinner and dessert. For appetizers, senior Carlin Gruber’s family hosted and served food such as pigs in a blanket, cheese and crackers, fruits, empanadas and veggie platters.
“The appetizers, specifically the pigs in a blanket, were my favorite part, but all the food definitely lived up to my expectations,” O’Driscoll said.
The entrees were provided at senior Kyle Neprud’s house, where the seniors ate a variety of pasta dishes, salad, dumplings, noodles, chicken nuggets and more. For the final stop, senior Maggie Melander’s family hosted the dessert course, where there was an assortment of sweets from chocolate chip cookies to watermelon boba. However, Melander and her family’s decision to host dessert was a last minute choice.
“I wasn’t really planning to host [part of] Progressive Dinner, but that’s just how it happened,” Melander said. “My house has a good backyard for [hosting the event], and I was just excited to be one of the people to bring the grade together.”
Melander’s parents helped make the dinner a memorable experience for the kids. Furthermore, she had the support of her close friends and their parents in trying to make her home a welcoming place for the grade.
“I was a bit worried that people wouldn’t have a good time, but [I had] the help of my friends’ families setting up chairs, tables, balloons, the food and everything, which made me feel better as it all came together,” Melander said.
Although there were many changes to Progressive Dinner this year, the teamwork of the WHS student government and the Wayland community was what made this event possible.
“I had so much fun,” Shaw said. “I’m excited for the grades below to experience the same thing in the following years.”
