CAMDEN — The Camden Hills Regional High School Class of 2015 seniors are about to earn their diploma Friday night, June 5. This week is full of ceremonies, accolades and acknowledgments, as the young men and women get ready to move out into the world.

The seniors and their families are excited, a little wistful and very ready to celebrate. For the community at large, however, the favorite part of graduation is the class march through downtown Camden, with friends, family and onlookers cheering them forward to baccalaureate.

In a processional that makes everyone smile with pride, the seniors marched through town Monday afternoon, June 1, continuing a tradition that kicks off the week of pageantry. 

Some wore Bean boots, some barn boots, some wore red sneakers, some wore heels. And as always, they were beautiful and handsome and perfect — ready for what lies ahead.

The annual baccalaureate takes place every June, on the Monday preceding the Friday night graduation. That ceremony begins at 7:59 p.m. in the Strom Auditorium at the high school.

As the students march through town — leaving the Camden-Rockport Middle School, walking down Mechanic Street, to Tannery Lane, out onto Main Street and up Elm to the First Congregational Church — Camden police halt traffic along the busy Route 1 and the sidewalks fill with a short, yet heartfelt, community celebration.

The baccalaureate, a tradition originating in the Middle Ages, is a worship service honoring education and learning.

For Camden Hills, the tradition has continued for decades, and is multi-denominational, with clergy representing the Chestnut Street Baptist, St. Thomas' Episcopal, First Universalist and Congregational churches, and the Adas Yoshuron Synagogue.