After school on Friday,  home football games stir up plenty of excitement across the Cal High campus.

But there is another reason to get excited, an event that has quickly grown from a small organization to a school tradition since its founding two years ago.

It’s tailgate time.

Starting at 4:30 p.m., the members of the Tailgate Club roll out their barbecues and lawn chairs to transform the otherwise drab back parking lot into a festive hangout spot for the whole school.

The savory smell of burgers and barbecue smoke fills the air, and the organization’s members prepare for an evening of excitement.

Originally formed by Anthony Velasquez as a way to have fun before home football games, the Tailgate Club takes the classic tradition of tailgating to a school setting.

Since Velasquez’s graduation i 2015, his younger brother, junior Aaron Velasquez, has taken over as president and watched the club grow to more than about 60 members.

Currently, most of its members are juniors, but it is open to interested students of all grade levels.

“You should join if you like burgers and want to make friends,” said junior Nick Bono.

What exactly goes on during these tailgates though? Simply put, the tailgate is a hangout spot for all students, who  can enjoy food, games, and getting into school spirit before a big game.

To make the gatherings even better, all of the food and drinks provided at the tailgates are free. Donations to the tailgate fund are accepted but not mandatory. But the donations are the club’s main source of income, along with official Tailgate Club T-Shirts.

“Students should come because it helps school spirit, and is a good place to meet new friends,” said Velasquez.

Concerned parents can be put at ease with their kids attending the tailgates because the events are supervised by club adviser, Greg Fortayon, a world geography and English teacher.

“My role mainly is to supervise, make sure that students are safe and respectful, and provide an adult presence,” said Fortayon.

Alongside the adult presence, the tailgates are also very well organized. Club members bring all the necessary provisions to make sure everything runs smoothly, and even provide their own trash cans to avoid any mess that comes along with high school hangouts.

Unfortunately, the tailgates are only organized for home football games. This may seem like a disappointment at first, but this decision is for good reason.

“…it makes each tailgate more meaningful, because there’s only four home football games this year,” said Fortayon. “If we did it during the basketball season, there would be less meaning to them, because there’s so many games.”

Aside from that, the weather during the football season is typically better for tailgates  than the basketball season, which takes place during the winter months.

There are no bigger plans for the homecoming game on Friday, even though leadership  has contacted the club in hopes of joining together to create a larger event. The club is expecting a much bigger turnout and is planning accordingly for the final home game of the season.

“Do you enjoy burgers? Do you enjoy friends? Do you like football?” junior Jordan Rackmill asked. “Then the Tailgate Club is for you.”