{"id":244024,"date":"2026-03-30T22:34:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/244024\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:34:06","slug":"wilson-high-launches-centennial-celebration-with-epic-night-at-marnis-the562-org","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/244024\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilson High Launches Centennial Celebration With Epic Night at Marni\u2019s \u2013 The562.org"},"content":{"rendered":"

The562\u2019s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by\u00a0Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2026-27 school year will mark the 100th\u00a0anniversary of Wilson High School\u2014but in typical Bruin fashion, they\u2019re not waiting to get the party started. The school put on a Centennial Kick-Off party at Marni\u2019s in Seal Beach last weekend with hundreds of staff, alums, and community members.\u00a0The event kicked off a year-plus celebration of Wilson history and pride.<\/p>\n

Longtime Wilson activities director Erin Fekjar unveiled the school\u2019s Centennial calendar for the upcoming years\u2019 festivities, and said she couldn\u2019t have been happier with the kickoff event. The evening featured the alumni drumline band as well as a Sublime cover band that kept things rocking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word is \u2018magnificent,\u2019\u201d Fekjar said. \u201cWe were all so happy. We\u2019ve been planning this for six months.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event featured a silent auction, raffle, and perhaps most importantly, committee sign-ups for people who want to help plan and staff the year\u2019s various events. The events will include:<\/p>\n

August 15: Wilson \u2018History Hang Out\u2019 at Historical Society of Long Beach<\/p>\n

September 4: Home Opener Football Game vs. Huntington Beach, Hall of Fame Induction<\/p>\n

October 30: 100th\u00a0Homecoming Football Game, vs. Millikan<\/p>\n

January 29, 2027: Re-Dedication of Wilson High School<\/p>\n

January 30, 2027: Gala Event<\/p>\n

April 18, 2027: Community Picnic<\/p>\n

June 2027: 100th\u00a0Wilson Graduation<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting, we\u2019ve been planning this for six months and it\u2019s great to see it out and about on the streets,\u201d said Fekjar. \u201cWe\u2019ve had so much excitement from alumni saying they\u2019re glad there\u2019s so many different kinds of events.\u201d<\/p>\n

The football game against Huntington Beach will be a special one for Wilson sports fans with a bent towards history\u2014the Bruins\u2019 first game ever played was against Huntington Beach. Representatives from the Meyer and Smitheran families will be on hand for the contest\u2014both families had patriarchs on the first-ever Bruin football team and have remained active and prominent families in the Bruins community.<\/p>\n

The Bruins have Centennial merchandise, which was on sale at Marni\u2019s but is also available on the Wilson Centennial Instagram page at\u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/wilsonhs_centennial\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fekjar said the goal of the year\u2019s celebration isn\u2019t just to appreciate and enjoy the school\u2019s unique academic and athletic history, it\u2019s also to help out the next generation of Bruins. They aim to raise $200,000 for the school including $100,000 to be given out over the next four years, with $1,000 going to 25 students in the school\u2019s next four graduating classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of different events speaking to all sorts of different people who want to come celebrate,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll also have some special events on campus for the current students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fekjar said it was fun having so many families come up and tell their multi-generational Bruin stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople love this school and love everything about it,\u201d she said. \u201cMy daughter is a Wilson alum and she came up from San Diego with her boyfriend, he said he had to come up and see this\u2014he was amazed by the school spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

That multi-generational history at Wilson was highlighted by the location, as Marni Gaylord hosted at her restaurant; Gaylord is a class of 85 alum whose two children also attended Wilson.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe love and the pride is there and it\u2019s exciting,\u201d said Fekjar. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great year to be a Bruin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo from Marni\u2019s courtesy Wilson history teacher Daire Brown<\/p>\n

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