The annual Homecoming parade is a time for celebrating our school and the diverse communities in it. This year, Sigma Nu and Alpha Phi called for the Cowboys to “bring it home” in more ways than one.
The University of Wyoming Homecoming parade on Oct. 23 featured over 60 floats, with the collaborative float between Sigma Nu Fraternity and Alpha Phi Sorority being declared the overall winner of the event.
The shared float project sought out to highlight creativity, school pride, and community through their performance-driven display.
This was the first chance for many members to participate.
“At times it was stressful, with it being our first homecoming since the pandemic,” Peyton Hatcher, a member of Alpha Phi and one of the organizers of the display, said. “There was just a lot of expectations that we wanted to meet and exceed.”
Hatcher, for whom this parade was her first, said that she found the energy of the parade to be the reward for her hard work.
“I’m a sophomore this year, so it was my first Homecoming parade I’ve ever went to,” Hatcher said. “Just the energy of the community made it all worthwhile.”
“It was my first Homecoming being here at the university. I had never seen what Sigma Nu does for the float or what anybody does for the float,” Carson Stinson, an organizer from Sigma Nu said. “Seeing it in the end, it worked out pretty well, and it was pretty rewarding.”
Great efforts went into each aspect of the float, ranging from designing the banners to practicing the performance.
Kristien Bravo, a member of Sigma Nu and a singer in the float also had his first experience with the Homecoming parade.
“We, unfortunately, kept up a lot of members of Sigma Nu practicing late at night in the basement,” Bravo said.
Bravo estimated they had been working on the float for 4-5 days themselves, and other participants shared in the late nights needed to finish the float.
“Larry Rutz, Mo Morrison, and I spent probably over 5 hours sanding our letters and repainting them,” Hatcher said. “I think the latest I stayed one night was 12:30 in the morning just so that we could get them done.”
These efforts, during the week of both Homecoming and midterms, proved worthwhile when they were declared the overall winners of the parade.
However, each participant voiced their appreciation of the UW community and the opportunity to engage with it long before excitement over this declaration was discussed.
For many members, both in this float and others, this was their first parade. For some, this will be the last.
Regardless, the event served as a great return to form for the entire campus, and a great way to welcome back not only the Cowboys, but the UW spirit as a whole.
