Captain Jack Sparrow, unfortunately, was unable to make a personal appearance at the Pirates in the Caribbean-themed Homecoming this year. Homecoming royalty soldiered on, representing Pirate pride without the help of the notorious captain.

“We thought of a pirate beach theme,” said Raleigh Addington, ASWU special events coordinator. “It goes with Whitworth perfectly, and even though it’s cheesy, someone’s still got to have some Pirate Buc spirit in them somewhere. It actually has proven to be a really big hit. A lot of people really like it.”

Students gathered at The Service Station for a dance on the eve of the football game. Throughout Homecoming Week, students watched nominated royalty from each dorm and off-campus compete for the titles of king and queen.

The Week:

“I think it’s [the goal of Homecoming] to create excitement for an event coming up, to have some dorm competition that’s in a healthy, fun way,” Assistant Dean of Students Dayna Coleman-Jones said.

The “Strike Yer Colors” event kicked off the festivities Monday. Royalty created pirate ship flags representing their dorms. Flags featured various sayings and drawings. For example, the Baldwin-Jenkins flag said “It treats me” and Stewvilles’s flag featured a drawing of Davy Jones, the squid captain.

“The Beachin’ Olympics” Tuesday, had royalty competing in a variety of pirate-themed endeavors such as “Yo ho ho and bottle of juice” chug.

Each dorm’s royalty dressed in their snazziest pirate garb and walked the runway during lunch Wednesday. After strutting their stuff, some royal couples were asked questions by the judges such as, “What’s the best wood for a peg leg?” and “Who is Whitworth playing against in the Homecoming game?”

“I went to the fashion show, and it was the only thing I went to,” freshman Savannah Jones said. “It was pretty good. They just needed more enthusiasm. The crowd needed more enthusiasm too.”

Freshman Zach Goold reflected on the competitions earlier in the week.

“I went to the fashion show,” Goold said. “I like the girl that did the handstand. That was sick. The mermaid was pretty funny too.”

The Dance:

The dance was held at local coffee shop The Service Station, which boasts a large meeting area with plenty of space for dancing. Student security welcomed attendees and checked Whitworth IDs at the door. Students danced on stage and in large groups on the main floor while the DJ mixed the tunes.

“I really enjoy going on stage and dancing,” Goold said. “I dislike coffee, but I like dancing.”

Two friends accompanied Goold, and each dressed up to suit the theme.

“I love it here,” junior Michael Dolezal said.

Dolezal’s favorite part of the dance was watching other people, he said. Blue, green and red lights pulsed around the room to the beat of the music. The otherwise dark dance floor was covered by a mass of students.

Most students were dressed for the occasion. Some men wore variations of a puffy white shirt tied at the waist with a red striped tie, cut up black pants and boots, while many women found dresses or made matching skirts from red-and-white striped fabric.

Taking a break long enough to catch their breath, many people chatted with each other while relaxing in the coffee shop area outside the dance floor.

The Halftime Show:

Homecoming activities culminated with Saturday’s game against Pacific University. Three new inductees to The Whitworth Athletics Hall of Fame were recognized.

The Homecoming king and queen were announced at the halftime show. Students, dressed in their Whitworth gear, cheered from the stands as the royal couples from their respective dorm communities were announced. The royalty dressed up in their costumes from Wednesday’s fashion show and stood on the track, awaiting the judge’s results.

Horizon Barnes, Arend’s princess, sported a red headband, white shirt and vest. Stewville’s prince, Eric Zimmerman, wore a black trench coat, and the off-campus royalty, Jordan Pittmann and Quincy Cooper kept it casual in matching gray Whitworth hoodies. Stewville came in third place with prince Zimmerman and princess Mariella Mladineo. East royalty, Bryan Xiong and Christine Drummond, received second place in the competition. Coming in first, as the 2013 Homecoming king and queen, were Arend prince and princess, Alvino Castro and Barnes.

Contact Alyssa Brooks at [email protected]