‘Proud’: Barriere grads sent off in style at 2026 fashion show
Published 9:35 am Friday, May 8, 2026
Grads from Barriere Secondary School said farewell to their high school years in style Wednesday evening at the Blast from the Past Fashion Show.
The school gymnasium was packed with about 300 spectators who sat back and watched as 27 soon-to-be graduates did catwalks in flashback retro-wear, performed costumed skits throwing back to various popular childhood shows and worked backstage production to keep the show running smoothly.
The evening was organized by Marcy Lenton, Linda Underhill and Sarah Wolfe.
Lenton said the grads began practicing just after spring break at the end of March, doing three hour-and-a-half practices a week.
“It was a big commitment and they did fantastic,” she said.
The show’s finale featured the grads walking out on stage, some in pairs, and getting fun-spirited profiles from MC Owen Powers, a Grade 7 teacher at the school. The performers showed off their style while Powers gave brief outlines of what they plan to do with their futures.
Mike Fennell, who served as the first mayor of Barriere, walked out on stage with his granddaughter Paige Arcand on his arm. He said the experience was pretty cool, even though Arcand didn’t give him much warning about it, he noted with a laugh.
“I went to school here in Barriere, graduated here. And I’m proud to have my granddaughter graduate from here, too.”
Fennell said Arcand crammed three years into the last two and was graduating a year early at 17.
“She’s going to go to UNBC. I got five more grandkids to graduate, too,” he said.
The former mayor said the show was very good.
The skits and music were choreographed by one of the grads, Dayna Underhill.
On production for the evening were grads Clara Tremblay (backstage), Jacob Jensen (sound), Kaydence Harris (backstage), Trent Meredith (lights), and Logan Able (lights).
Backstage was also Grade 11 parent helper Angie Farrow and Grade 11 students Teagan Allen, Charlie Crossman, Mazey Munro and Shawn Sterling.
The show itself starred the following grads.
- Dayna Underhill
- Regan Lenton
- Taalishia Dobson
- Cayden Johnson
- Cypress Watson
- James Casimir
- Eva Stephens
- Drydyn Oja-Ames
- Paige Arcand
- Missy Kjellstrom
- Reine McGravey
- Patrick Appel
- Arlee-Jo Corrie
- Joy Rainer
- Xavier Sim
- Austin Campbell
- Anthony Green
- Thunder Camille
- Mayla Kennedy
- Richard Blanke
- Tristin Campbell
- Tom Pullen
“A big congratulations to all the grads. We look forward to seeing them walk across the stage in the next month or so, in June,” said Underhill, one of the organizers.
She also gave a big thank you to all the shows “amazing sponsors” for the silent auction. The organizers for the auction were grad parents Rainy Wittner and Lindsay Arcand.
Noted sponsors who helped with other aspects of the show included the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 242 (provided ice) and AG Foods (provided beverages).
Lynn McGravey was the coordinator for baking and drinks with Angie Rainer taking charge of tickets and advertising. Bev Murphy of the Thompson Valley Players provided most of the costumes.
The Print Room was also given a shoutout as a “huge sponsor” for donating all the posters, brochures, tickets and raffle tickets for the show.
Lenton expressed happiness with how the evening went.
“I think it was amazing,” she said. “Our grads worked really hard.”
