Convenience Big Store: Cypress' top alcohol sellers for August include Ambriza, Gringos.

Poll: What homecoming traditions are in Cy-Fair both past and present?

High schools throughout the nation are getting ready for homecoming by hanging up decorations and celebrating spirit weeks.

I graduated from a small high school in St. Louis' inner city. The graduating class only had about 80 people. From my experience, homecoming traditions were just parades, face paint or maybe a certain theme.

Coming up on a year since moving to Houston, this is my first time hearing about Texas' popular long-lived tradition of wearing giant mums during homecoming.

For others who aren't familiar with the concept, a mum is a large arrangement of ribbons that includes bells, charms, and a button sewn together for a dress. The male counterpart for a mum is a smaller, less flashy version designed to fit around a man's arm.

I assume I am not the first Cy-Fair resident to learn about mums on the fly. Where did you attend high school and what were your homecoming traditions? Let us know by taking our reader poll.

Ralph Green, Suburban reporter producer

ralph.green.@houstonchronicle.com

Need to Know

Family members of Alexander Winfield celebrate the official naming of a League City roadway. Winfield Parkway will connect Maple Leaf Rd. and Landing Boulevard. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2024.

Photo by: Deborah Winfield

Cypress resident's great grandfather honored with League City street name.

Winfield Parkway will acknowledge the legacy of Alexander Winfield, a key figure in the League City's origin story and one of the first Black residents in the city to own land.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo speaks during the county swearing in ceremony at NRG Center on Monday, Jan. 2, 2022, in Houston.

Photo by: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo returns to work after extended medical leave for depression.

Hidalgo went public about her mental health on Aug. 7 when she announced she had checked into an in-patient facility in late July to be treated for clinical depression.

Openings and closings

Cypress Family Eyecare opened in Cypress at 16700 House Hahl Road.

James Oevermann is the doctor at the new practice, which features several services such as eye muscle balance and focusing, glaucoma testing and sensory and neurological evaluation.

Shout out

Congrats to WNBA star and Cy-Fair grad Chiney Ogwumike on being named to President Biden's council on African diplomacy.

One last thing ...

Are you excited about the October eclipse? The view won't be as amazing in Houston as some other parts of Texas, but we'll still get some of the effects. Here's where you can see it in Houston suburbs from Conroe to Pearland.