The largest UW Homecoming parade in the past decade occurred Saturday, Oct 22.
“Over the years, entries have varied from 60-90. This year we had 98, and that may be close to our limit,” Jack Tennant, the Executive Director of the UW Alumni Association, said.
“Just as the first float made its way back up to the start, the last float was pulling out onto Grand.”
The parade, which was organized by the UW Alumni Association, was considered a “a huge success” according to Tennant.
“From the planning, to the staging, to the actual parade we couldn’t have been happier with the turn out. The crowds that gathered at the Alumni House and downtown were incredible.”
The parade started at the UW Alumni house, at 14th and Grand Avenue, marched down Grand Avenue until 2nd street, then returned on Ivinson Avenue.
Many who participated in the parade voiced minor complaints, but remained overwhelmingly positive.
“I think that we could stand to have some of the instructions sooner rather than later,” Kharesse Orr, the Secretary of the Association of Wyoming Student Makers (AWSM), said.
“But other than that, I felt like [communications] were very congenial and informative, like there really were no other issues.”
Many who participated in the parade felt it went well.
“I think it’s been pretty smooth. I mean, no more chaotic than usual; parades are never smooth, I don’t think,” Morgan Edmund, the Social Media Chair of the WYO-Gold Alumni Association, said.
“It doesn’t always seem like it’s all gonna work out but it always does, and I think that’s true for all parades. It’s just kind of a cluster for a minute and then it happens and it works and that’s great.”
There were frequently small gaps between floats, one lasting over 5 minutes, but many watching didn’t seem to care and enjoyed the parade.
“This is Laramie; we don’t expect perfection. This is a community town and a community parade and we’re just talking to each other and it gives the kids a chance to go grab the candy that’s right smack in the middle of the street,” Tawnya Plumb, a local resident, said.
The parade serves as a kick-off to UW Homecoming and provides an opportunity for the University of Wyoming and the Laramie Community to come together and celebrate.
“The parade is a signature event for homecoming,” Tennant said.
“It connects our students, alumni, and community together. It’s a celebration of UWs past, present and future.”
