With more than half a dozen high school graduation ceremonies scheduled this week, residents can expect increased traffic around the Charleston Civic Center.
Ceremonies at the Civic Center Coliseum and Municipal Auditorium will be held today through Saturday, said Joe Varney, an event coordinator for the Civic Center.
"Most [ceremonies] take between two and three hours, depending on how many students are at the school," Varney said.
The Civic Center's parking garage, with entrances on Quarrier and Lee streets, will be open. Paid parking in the lot next to the Municipal Auditorium on Virginia Street also will be available, he said.
While Civic Center Drive is closed for ongoing renovations at the arena, additional handicapped parking is available in the Quarrier Street parking garage, Varney said.
Visitors also can park in the Charleston Town Center mall parking garage.
Lisa McCracken, marketing director for the mall, said the graduation ceremonies add to the uptick in mall traffic.
"The latter part of May every year is traditionally a busy season for the Municipal Auditorium, the Civic Center and Town Center mall," she said. "It's a special time for families to gather together, enjoy a meal or purchase graduation cards or gifts."
Varney noted that, for security purposes, family members of graduates are not permitted to bring wrapped packages, bags or balloons into the Civic Center or Municipal Auditorium.
"There is a lot of security detail that goes into these events . . . , [and] a long list of protocols our staff is used to while the graduations are happening."
He said the public should be aware of higher pedestrian traffic near the center this week.
"People will be walking back and forth across the street and taking pictures, so just keep an eye out for pedestrians as they're coming through the area at that time," he said.
In addition to the ceremonies, the Charleston Light Opera Guild will present performances of "Spamalot," in the Civic Center's Little Theater, on Friday and Saturday.
Saturday also will include a Cat Fanciers' Association-sponsored All-Breed Cat Show at the Civic Center.
The graduation ceremonies are as follows:
n Capital High School, 7:30 p.m., Civic Center
n Herbert Hoover High School, 7 p.m., Municipal Auditorium
n Riverside High School, 7 p.m., Civic Center
n George Washington High School, 7 p.m., Municipal Auditorium
n St. Albans High School, 7:30 p.m., Civic Center
n Nitro High School, 7 p.m., Municipal Auditorium
n South Charleston High School, 10 a.m., Civic Center
n Sissonville High School, 7 p.m., Municipal Auditorium
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.