By Minh Ngoc Le & Emma Nguyen
Baronchella is the latest tradition to sweep through the halls of Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) beginning on May 2, replacing the Mr. and Mrs. Barons event for this year. Baronchella takes the essence of what made its predecessor so special—community, talent and school spirit—and reimagines it in an exciting new form.
As the name implies, Baronchella is a fusion between “Barons” and “Coachella,” taking its inspiration from the famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held annually in California. Just as Coachella showcases diverse artists across various genres, Baronchella aims to highlight a wide range of campus talents through an immersive musical concert.
“[We wanted to] give students who maybe are more shy and haven’t participated in our other tournaments an opportunity to perform and show their talent,” freshman Leianna Dunning said.In addition to student performances, Baronchella will feature various activities including lawn games and face painting hosted by the FVHS Senate program. The Associated Student Body (ASB) and Class Commissions will hold their own respective concession stands, serving as their fundraisers to support the student body.
“Since Baronchella is something new, students are more inclined to sign up. And even though it’s based around the same idea about showing off their talent, this is more niche to people who like to perform and want to show off their musical skills,” senior Isaac Luu said.
The transition of talent showcase events from Mr. and Mrs. Baron to Baronchella was driven by a need to increase student engagement. According to ASB Advisor and Activities Director Patricia Brewer, in recent years, participation in Mr. and Mrs. Baron had declined, prompting ASB to introduce a fresh alternative.
While the previous event will not be hosted this school year, ASB plans to evaluate the success of each event and potentially rotate between them annually based on student interest.
“We have two events that we fluctuate between. [Mr. and Ms. Baron] just was not a good turnout over the years. It kind of started to dwindle in participants, so we are now branching out with a new event,” Brewer said. “If [Baronchella] is successful, we might do it again next year. [Or] we might bring back Mr. and Mrs. Baron.”
The event began in 2011 as Mr. Baron, a pageant only open to senior boys. Female students were invited to participate beginning in 2020, becoming what’s known as Mr. and Mrs. Baron today. It was an annual competition celebrating students through various contests, including Best Dressed, Questionnaire, Talent and Lip Sync Battle. The winner received the chance to be crowned Mr. or Mrs. Baron, with an additional title awarded to the Crowd Favorite.
Unlike its predecessor, Baronchella will not feature rankings or a voting system, fully taking away the competitive element to solely focus on showing off campus talent.
Baronchella’s debut will take place on May 2 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the FVHS bowl.
“We’re just really excited to have everyone come and see everyone else’s talents, and we’re hoping that everyone enjoys the event as much as we enjoyed planning it,” Dunning said.
Looking towards the future, ASB has multiple events planned, including a volleyball tournament happening throughout April, Baron Games on April 11, Powder Puff, a football game between junior and senior girls, on April 25; and Prom happening in May.
This article was updated on Monday, April 7, at 11:04 A.M. to clarify the origin of the Mr. and Mrs. Baron event.
