On your left, upbeat tunes vibrate through a large speaker which eliminates all chances of boredom. Everybody stops what they are doing immediately and begins to sing along or break into a dance mob. On your right, a series of laughs and screams erupt when someone is thrown off the mechanical bull or gets hit by one of the spinning arms during the wipeout game. In front of you, the mouth watering smell of waffles lures your taste buds and the pictures of creamy ice cream sundaes and milkshakes make students flock to the minuscule window where it is sold. With the marching band playing stand tunes, blue, green, and white being the only colors present, and clear sense of immense school spirit, there is no doubt that this is the Colonial Forge Talon Tailgate.

On September 16 at 5:00 P.M. the students of Colonial Forge came together in the teacher’s parking lot for the Talon Tailgate. The annual tailgate is run by the Student Council Association, SCA, and takes a lot of preparation before the students begin playing games and riding bulls.

“We start preparing for this event back in June. So, we have to go and email all the clubs asking if they would be interested in participating in the Talon Tailgate. We order the inflatables back in June and try to think about the different food trucks we are going to have for everybody and the different events,” Ms. Heather Thornton, a social studies teacher and co-sponsor of SCA, said.

The inflatables and food trucks were chosen by SCA and the sponsors, Mrs. Michelle Brewer and Ms. Thornton, contacted different food trucks and invited them to the venue. There was also a color splash where student’s white clothing was sprayed and then covered in blue and green paint powder. The inflatables this year were a mechanical bull and a wipeout inflatable which had two arms that spun around while students tried to jump over and under them. The food trucks this year included a waffle truck and an ice cream truck, which were one of the many highlights for most of the students at the event.

“I like the atmosphere, the songs, how everybody is hanging out, and the food trucks! It is pretty lit!” Taylor Ekanger (‘18) said.

Despite the mass preparation for the tailgate, the student council found it very valuable to have the Talon Tailgate for the student body.

“I think it is important because it helps new students that haven’t been at Forge for long get with the rest of the crowd and have a lot of fun. It is a great way to start the football season and it raises a lot of school spirit,” Joseph Black, junior class president, said.

From helping shy students meet new friends to simply promoting school spirit, the Talon Tailgate has it all. The large turnout of students proves that this event is more than a tailgate. It is spirit raising, color splashing, Forge pride way of life. It proves, yet again, that the students of Colonial Forge believe that everyday is a great day to be an Eagle.