TCAPS posts Class of 2026 graduation schedule for Traverse City schools

Traverse City Area Public Schools lined up a split graduation weekend for the Class of 2026, with Traverse City High School ceremonies set for Friday, May 29, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. at NMC’s Milliken Auditorium, followed by Traverse City West Senior High School at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, May 31, and Traverse City Central High School at 4:00 p.m. that same day at Kresge Auditorium in Interlochen.

The schedule gives Grand Traverse County families the exact timing they need to plan travel, family gatherings, and work schedules around a weekend that stretches across two days and two venues. TCAPS said it would provide a live stream through its media commencement and convocation coverage, giving relatives and friends a way to follow the ceremonies without a seat in the auditorium.

The venue choice also sets each school’s celebration apart. Milliken Auditorium at the Dennos Museum Center seats 367, making the Traverse City High School ceremonies smaller and more intimate. Kresge Auditorium at the Interlochen Center for the Arts is a much larger space, with 3,917 seats and open-sided pavilion seating near Green Lake, which helps explain why West and Central will use the same site on Sunday.

TCAPS’ event calendar shows the West Senior High graduation ceremony running from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on May 31, and the Central High School ceremony from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. That built-in buffer points to the turnover needed between ceremonies and gives families a clear window for arrivals, photos, and post-ceremony plans before the next group begins.

The district had already marked the Class of 2026 with Honors Convocation, including a West Senior High convocation from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on May 19. TCAPS said Central and West seniors were recognized there for scholarships, academic awards, and honor roll standing, underscoring how the final stretch of the school year has been unfolding in public view across Traverse City schools.

The timing follows a pattern from previous years as well. The April 2025 district newsletter listed Central High School Honors Convocation for May 19, West Senior High Honors Convocation for May 20, Traverse City High School Graduation for May 30, and Central High School graduation for June 1. This spring’s calendar keeps that end-of-year cadence intact, while concentrating the final ceremonies into a holiday-week window that will pull families across Traverse City and Interlochen for one of the school year’s defining milestones.