Minutes before the Coppell High School Commons welcomed guests at 5 p.m. on Friday, the Lariettes, in an organized frenzy were finishing up last-minute touches to the commons, fixing centerpieces and getting baked goods ready for the swarm of guests that were about to arrive. 

There was a certain energy present in the commons amongst the members of the Lariettes Service Organization, the Lariettes themselves and the parents who spent countless hours preparing for the event.

That excitement served as a foundation for a lively atmosphere the rest of the night as items were raffled off. The dinner ran from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., but the online auction on the CHS Lariette website runs through Friday.  

The Lariettes Booster Club worked tirelessly since April, when the new board was turned over, to prepare for this event in order to be able to host an event of this magnitude. 

“A lot of the preparation [is done by] our booster club,” CHS Lariettes director Hayley Mitchell said. “The parents do all of the behind the scenes stuff. They come in early and get this place ready. The Lariettes side of it is really selling the dinner and raffle tickets. It was really important that the girls meet their goal so that we can do the things we are able to do and want to do, like competition and spring show for the year.”

Besides the Lariettes selling raffle tickets and baked goods, the CHS9 Silver Stars also attended the event to support the drill team and help the JV team get exposure. 

“The Silver Stars are getting to interact with everybody when they’re selling their baked goods or welcoming people to come into the building,” CHS9 Silver Stars director Hillary Clark said. “It’s definitely community interaction and gets them to be exposed and to show everybody that we have a junior varsity and varsity team. Being junior varsity and right under the Lariettes, they’re able to surround themselves with what could be their potential fundraiser in the future.”

Both the Silver Stars and the Lariettes are often seen at events and parades helping the drill teams foster a connection with the Coppell community. However, the Lariettes Spaghetti Dinner is the main event where both teams get a chance to interact with some citizens on a more personal and deep level. 

“Because of COVID-19 and the pandemic, it feels pretty good to be back around a lot of people again,” freshman Silver Star Aashita Jain said. “A lot of people showed up because we have been apart for a pretty long time. I think that helped us raise more funds for the Lariettes.”

With last year’s spaghetti dinner being cancelled and replaced with an online silent auction, this year was many Lariettes and citizens first time celebrating the Lariettes in this way since 2019.  

“I was really proud that we were able to come back after last year with the silent auction being online,” Lariette senior veteran Emily Bui said. “I think we had a good turnout and I was able to see a lot of new faces and new sponsors. Meeting people in person was a lot more intimate and passionate.”   

Since the spaghetti dinner has been held since 1991, the tradition is near and dear to many people’s hearts. The Lariettes hope this tradition will continue to be passed down for years to come, despite the challenges of last year.

“We do this based on how we’ve done in the past years,” Mitchell said. “When we have a one year break and we have to teach all our LSO members and Lariettes what to do during the spaghetti dinner, it’s nice to be able to come back knowing that now we’ve all done it again and we can continue to pass down the tradition.”

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