BY Abigail Cordobes and Sylvia Lopez

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — This year’s Nonfire was held on Oct. 29, 2021, where excited students and families watched each class battle it out in a friendly competition full of skits and games. 

Nonfire is an event in which each class of Silver Creek High school students participates in a battle of choreographed dance and skits to declare which class is superior. As juniors of Silver Creek, this is the second Nonfire we’ve been fortunate enough to attend. 

“Nonfire,” rather than the traditional “Bonfire” celebration,  has been a long-term tradition at many California schools for Homecoming Week, primarily because California is notorious for its wildfires. Students work for around one month preparing the dances, props, and skits, all things that make Nonfire truly special. 

This year’s Nonfire theme is called “Twisted Tales,” inspired by classic Halloween movies of the past decade. The class of 2022 was the movie “Coraline,” 2023’s was “Corpse Bride,” 2024’s was “Monster House” and 2025’s was “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.

The night started out with each class running out onto the field to perform their ‘hype’ dance, the order going from Freshmen to Seniors. After some technical difficulties with the Freshmen’s audio, the night was fully underway. 

The audience was loud and ready to see what each class had in store for them, and we were ready as well. The class of 2025 started off the night with lots of laughs, from Sally’s wig falling off to the constant switching of the backgrounds trying to get them in the right order. Though the Freshmen’s performance wasn’t perfect, it sure was entertaining, the most memorable performance of theirs being Hadlee Tonthat’s stunning performance as Sally. 

After a very disappointing Tug-o-War game, the Juniors lost to the Freshman which was embarrassing to watch, it was time for 2024’s skit of Monster House. As the night progressed, we both came to the conclusion that our least favorite performance was the Sophomores’. The script was a bit boring, their backgrounds were also never in order (similar to the Freshmen), and it was never really clear when their skit even ended. Murmurs filled the crowd around us asking if the performance was over because they simply stopped and there really was no ending to their storyline. We are still not really sure what happened in their skit, none the less we can cut some slack for them as this is also their first Nonfire, and their dances were very well done. 

The dance program then did a performance, and honestly, it went by so fast we simply have no thoughts other than that everyone did exceptionally well. Since dance was a very large group, it was a well-put-together performance, leaving peers and strangers impressed. Following the dance performance there was a quick 15-minute intermission, then another game, a relay race. The race was against all classes, Seniors winning again with Juniors placing last. Honestly, we were not surprised at this point, but it was very relieving to see that everyone was still having fun.

Then it was 2023’s skit, our class! Besides a stubborn strong wind, and the breakage of the tree prop, their presentation of the Corpse Bride was really awesome. The dances were wonderfully choreographed and the backgrounds were in order, a true first for the evening. The only thing was dull acting, but they made up for it in the dances, which was unarguably the best-executed part of 2023’s skit.

Once the Juniors were finished, the Consolation and Championship game of Tug-o-War started. Our congratulations to the Juniors, who managed to beat the Sophomores and land 3rd place, not last!

2022 was the most anticipated act of the whole night, stunning the audience and judges in 2019 with their interpretation of Bird Box, beating that year’s Juniors and earning 2nd place. The Seniors did not come to play, their entire performance was stunning, that is the only way to describe it. From their backgrounds to the actors, song choices, and the wonderfully choreographed dances it was simply jaw-dropping. Though as Juniors we should be rooting for our own class, there was no doubt that Seniors won, they fully deserved it from our point of view. 

Thereafter it was a lot of photos, hugs, and words of congratulations. Though there really was no question that the Seniors won, we stayed till the Announcements. To no surprise, the Seniors did win, succeeding them was the Juniors in 2nd place with Sophomores following and finally the Freshmen.

The evening was fun, lively, and one of the first times that this year felt almost normal. See you at next year’s Nonfire, where the Seniors won’t come to play.