Gowanda Small Town Times

Pictured are the Royalty from the 2026 Gowanda Jr.-Sr. Prom. From left to right, are Princess Aubrey Smuda, Prince Jayden Fish, King Winter Mentley-Peters and Queen Janice Sanders.

The 2026 Gowanda Central School Jr.-Sr. Prom Coronation was held on Saturday, May 16 in the high school auditorium. Master of Ceremonies for the event was retiring Assistant Principal, David Smith, assisted by his wife, Jill. On hand to crown the new royalty were Homecoming King and Queen, Landon Ashley and Darcy Kennedy, respectively.

As is the custom for GCS Prom Coronation ceremonies, all of the prom goers were introduced to the audience in their prom attire before moving on to the coronation itself. Then the candidates were introduced. In a departure from the past format, the ceremony was divided into a Junior Class, Prince/Princess segment and a Senior Class, King/Queen one. Additionally, instead of introducing the candidates in pairs, is was girls as a group and boys as a group for each segment.

The Junior Class Princess candidates, Emmarie Gillen, Malayna Pawlak and Aubrey Smuda were brought in first. Followed by the Junior Class Prince candidates, Damien Cedri, Jayden Fish, Porter Lemke, and Dalen Stevens. That was followed by the crowning of the Junior Class royalty, Jayden Fish, Prince, and then, Aubrey Smuda, Princess.

Now it was time to bring in the Senior Class King and Queen candidates. Starting with the girls, Makayla Kraft, Liz Malek and Janice Sanders. Then the boys, Lukas Barrett, Marcus Gamble, Winter Mentley-Peters and Alanson Stafford. The ceremony concluded with Winter Mentley-Peters crowned as King and Janice Sanders crowned as Queen.

A brief period of photo taking followed before leaving for the Prom itself.

The Prom Royalty and complete court were gathered on stage for photos after the ceremony.

A video of the full ceremony is available on the GowandaOnline page at bitChute at:

https://www.bitchute.com/video/jjUkT6156p4d/

A festive homecoming at Gowanda Central School District is planned Monday to Saturday, October 6-11, 2025. The weeklong fall celebration features a variety of engaging events, including the Community Spirit Parade.

𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦:

▪️The annual Community Spirit Parade, facilitated by the Gowanda Boosters Club-GBC, is scheduled Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 6 p.m.

▪️The Powder Puff game, featuring juniors and seniors, is planned at Hillis Field immediately following the Community Spirit Parade.

▪️The homecoming football game will be played Friday, October 10, 2025, at 7 p.m. against Franklinville Central High School at 7 p.m.

▪️The homecoming dance will be held Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the GHS gym. (coronation at 6:30 p.m.)

The Gowanda Jr.-Sr. Prom was held on May 10. Before heading out to the dinner and dance segment of the prom, the coronation ceremony was held in the high school auditorium. Attendees were introduced and the 2025 Prom Royalty were crowned.

Representing the Senior class were Queen candidates: Holland Browning, Jill Gernatt, Alyssa Golden, Danielle Krajewski and Lily Nuwer. Senior King candidates included: Chase Bolen, Blake Herman, Keaton Seneca and Zayne Laskey. Representing the Junior class were Princess candidates: Darcy Kennedy, Danielle Miller, Janice Sanders. Junior Prince candidates included: Aiden Carroll, Marcus Gamble and Winter Mentley-Peters.

GowandaOnline video of the coronation ceremony can be found here: Coronation video

Prom King, Queen, Princess and Prince, from left to right respectively, are Blake Herman, Alyssa Golden, Danielle Miller and Winter Mentley-Peters.

Pictured are the 2025 Prom Royalty and Court including Lily Nuwer, Keaton Seneca, Danielle Krajewski, Zayne Laskey, Jill Gernatt, Chase Bolen, Holland Browning, “King” Blake Herman, “Queen” Alyssa Golden, “Princess” Danielle Miller, “Prince” Winter Mentley-Peters, Aiden Carroll, Janice Sanders, Darcy Kennedy and Marcus Gamble

[photo] Pictured are the 2023 GCS Homecoming Court and Royalty along with their class affiliation (from left to right) Evan Fort (2024), Aubrie Heron (2024), Michael Horth (2024), Alivia Capozzi (2024), ‘King’ Aiden Ackley (2024) [in effigy], ‘Queen’ Ella Luther (2024), ‘Prince’ Chase Bolen (2025), ‘Princess’ Cadence Luther (2027), Kierra Moses (2025), Carter Capozzi (2026), Brair Bartlet (2026) and Kyan Austin (2027).

Spirit Week in Gowanda annually is the run-up to Homecoming. Highlight events include the annual Spirit Parade and the Homecoming Coronation ceremony. For 2023, Spirit Week took on a fairy tale theme. The week kicked off with a very unique event as a new scoreboard was installed at Hillis Field in Gowanda on Monday, September 25.

The Spirit Parade took place on Thursday, September 28 featuring a number of elaborate floats created by various classes and groups in the school. Prizes of $200.00 each are awarded for Most Creative, Best Entertainment, Best Craftmanship and Most Spirited. An Additional $300.00 award goes to the Grand Champion float with all of the above categories being considered. The 2023 winners included Class of 2026 (Creative), Class of 2024 (Entertainment, JV Volleyball (Spirited), Class of 2025 (Craftsmanship) and Class of 2027 (Grand Champion).

On Saturday, the last day of September, It was time for the Homecoming Dance. It was the first social event to be held on the newly high refinished school gym floor. Music for the dance was provided by ‘The Wedding Guys 716’ with DJ Mike also acting as MC for the coronation ceremony. Doing the crowning honors was Student Council member, Alaina Kazmarsic. Senior Class member was only present in effigy after being sidelined with a broken leg. That didn’t prevent him from being named Homecoming King. A complete listing of the Homecoming Court & Royalty is above with their photo.