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Nite in Hand Pulls Out All the Stops in Madison

As in many communities, Madison’s parents and concerned citizens band together to give their graduating seniors a grand finale, safe from off-campus partying. To describe Nite in Hand (NIH) as a typical senior night, however, doesn’t do it justice.

For its 28th year, NIH’s organizers, led by Ron Botelho, transformed Daniel Hand High School (DHHS) into this year’s theme: The Nite of Myths and Legends. Guests were greeted at the door by giant banners of Poseidon and Athena and the mythical theme continued inside, with murals depicting unicorns and dragons, mermaids, and more. The showstopper was an animatronic Kraken set against an undersea backdrop in the cafeteria.

While the local talent exhibited in the detailed displays is impressive, this year the organizers brought in a ringer: professional artist Patrick Ganino.

“He’s pretty famous,” said Jen Smith, the head of publicity for this year’s event.

Ganino has done artwork for TV shows like Extreme Makeover and Bar Rescue, but donated a few murals to this event. One of his paintings was of a dragon battling a unicorn on rugged desert terrain. A preview held before the event opened to graduates on June 19 drew praise from parents, underclassmen, curious townspeople, alumni, and those who contributed to the event.

The theme, as always, was kept secret from the graduates until 10 p.m. that evening. Chaperoned by adults, the graduating seniors were invited into the school to eat, reminisce about their now-concluded high school years, play bingo, and admire the art that decorates the building. The event ended early the next morning.

The secrecy, according to Principal Anthony Salutari, is what helps sell the event—that and the fact that students from this year’s class share a special kinship.

“There’s so much for them to do here,” Salutari said, “and, this class especially, they like themselves. They really like one another. So, to know that they’ll all be here and enjoy themselves, they won’t see it as ‘We’re trying to keep them safe.’ I think they’ll see it as, ‘What a great opportunity.’”

Keeping the secret is fundamental to the event. It may seem like a daunting task, considering all the artwork has to be shuttled into the building discreetly while the senior class prepares for graduation. They don’t have much time to complete it, and what they are transporting has to be kept confidential—all for the sake of maintaining the surprise.

“We literally have about a 24 hour period to get it all together,” said Lisa Leonardi, a graduate’s parent who created some of the art on display. “So it starts with moving all of the things that have been made from what we call our ‘art space,’ which is at a different location. And we get tons of people to help transport it here. We put it in the auxiliary gym on Wednesday. We come in when the kids are out of school on Thursday, worked until 10 o’clock last night, and then again from 8:30 until three o’clock today.”

NIH has become a celebration not just for the graduates, but for the community.

“I looked more forward to this event than the actual graduation itself,” said Megan Higgins, an alum of the high school who was one of many former students at this year’s preview event.

As a completely community-supported event, NIH depends wholly on donations. This year’s fundraising was notable, in part due to a new stair sponsorship program, according to NIH Treasurer Barbara Fiume.

For a donation, local businesses and residents were able to “donate” a stair on which they could share an encouraging message to graduates.

“We were really trying to think of an innovative way to raise more money. And this year, we’re really trying to get out there,” said Fiume. “We’re trying to join the Chamber of Commerce. By getting people to sponsor a stair, it helps offset the cost of decorating, because it’s not cheap to do all this.”

In addition to the sponsor a stair promotion, Fiume attributes the financial success of the event to the senior auction run by Michelle Freund—who wasn’t at the preview event because she had a senior who was preparing to graduate.

Preserving the memories from NIH 2015 can also help with fundraising—all the art from the show is currently on sale. For more information, email kyndria@yahoo.com.