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After two years of virtual and hybrid ceremonies, Palm Beach County School District graduations are back to normal.

The district is preparing for the first of those graduates to walk across the stage next week at the South Florida Fairgrounds’ Expo Center.

Local events happening: WPBF 25 Unified

The district is expecting about 12,000 graduates to pass through the gates over the next two weeks, and unlike the ceremonies in 2020 and 2021, this year will have full pomp and circumstance.

“Over here to my far left, that's called gate 11. That's where the graduates and the staff members will walk in,” said Eric Stern, the district’s graduation coordinator.

From the moment graduates enter the center, Stern has designed each ceremony to run like a well-oiled machine. That includes a separate entrance for families and then a pitstop for graduates in a staging area.

“They'll sit in their seats here as a replica of in there, could be a little mini stage for principals to go over, you know, rules. And last-minute speeches and just kind of pumped them up and get ready,” Stern said.

Then, it's red-carpet time, graduates process into the main hall past their families to their seats. Stern said 28 of the district’s 32 graduations will be held at the center over nine days, with each school getting 4,500 tickets. He’s expecting 140,000 to 150,000 people to come through the venue, including members of a band and choir.

“As you can see they're working on the screens right now, we'll have LED screens on both sides of the stage. And we'll have a rear projector here, which is two-sided one for everybody in the back to see,” Stern said.

Even though things are back to how they once were, Stern said they’re keeping health and safety in mind, with crews on deck to clean during the ceremony and plenty of hand sanitizer to go around.

But more than anything, he said they’re happy to be back to celebrating their graduates in person.

“It's thrilling, you get to see families, grandparents because last year they were limited to two tickets per family. So again, see siblings come out and join with their older brothers or sisters. It's great that you’re kind of back to normal,” Stern said.

The district has a few more days to get everything set up for the first graduation on May 16. The last one is on May 26.

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