OHS Graduation FAQs

The Orting High School Commencement Ceremony is a hometown celebration where we come together as a
community to show how awesome their accomplishment is. We feel the Cardinal Stadium is the perfect
location for us to come together and celebrate their accomplishments and wish them luck on their next journey.
We pride ourselves in making graduation a special event for each graduating class. Detailed planning and
care goes into the staging, seating and all the extras. We promise to make it a memorable experience for all!
Every year we receive numerous compliments about having a hometown graduation. Many more venues are
possible if we limit families to 2-4 tickets, but we have heard consistently that our stakeholders are not
interested in a smaller graduation. We are also able to rent tents that keep senior, band/choir, and the stage
dry and out of the rain. We utilize our covered stands for some cover for families as well.

We have inquired about each of these locations and have determined, based on our facility needs, date
availability, and cost that they will not work for our event this year. We will re-evaluate each school year.

White River Amphitheater-WRA no longer allows graduation ceremonies at their facility. In their final year,
they canceled all high school events at the last moment, leaving schools scrambling to find the equipment
necessary to host their events. OHS had all our rentals secured.
Tacoma Dome-significant cost increase (Graduation is well over 20k at our current location). Also, there is
very poor feedback as parents are very far away from the ceremony and struggle to identify their child.
Fairgrounds- After exceeding the Showplex fire capacity multiple times OHS was told to significantly limit
family tickets or move outside. In the grandstands If rain comes, the event stops and graduates just line up
and cross the stage, as electronics must be unplugged. Also, dates remaining each year after Puyallup SD
would give a very undesirable date and time for OHS graduation.
Showare Center- Significantly more expensive and considerably far away for our community.
Local colleges-We have not found a local college that has the capacity for the spectators we bring to
graduation.

Pierce and surrounding counties surprisingly do not have endless options for large events. If you have a great
idea for a location that can accommodate up to 3,000+ people please email the graduation coordinator or high
school admin.

Yes, we want seniors and their family to decide who they share their special event with. Tickets are a security
measure to ensure that everyone has been invited to attend our event.

Tickets are based on class size and our ceremony location. This year we will offer 10 tickets per family.. We
encourage seniors who do not need all their tickets to give them to others who do. The rental/setup/takedown
of chairs is a significant limitation to our crowd size.

We do not charge for tickets so buying additional is not available. OSD is not interested in pursuing a system
where family attendance can be dictated by income level.

Each year the district sets up a link through NFHS that is free to view online.

Seniors are required to wear the approved cap, gown, tassel and stole to graduation. If you have a sibling or
friend who graduated from Orting recently you can wear their gown but you will still need to purchase the
correct stole and tassel.

The only items permitted to be worn are approved Orting High School honor cords and medals, and Native
American Regalia. Other traditional cultural adornments must be approved by Mr. Fries.

All cap decorations must be approved by OHS Admin at the morning rehearsal. If a student comes with
inappropriate cap decorations, that student will complete the ceremony without a cap.