Floats, kazoo bands and the marching band flooded the streets of Bone early Saturday morning for the Homecoming Float Parade.
The floats are judged on originality, creativity, appearance, how much work students put into it and relation to the theme. This year’s first place winner was the Nerd Network, second place was Appalachian Educators and third place was the Pagan Student Association.
“There’s usually a couple of top contenders, so it just comes down to what the judges are feeling that day,” Anne Baldwin, graduate assistant of Student Affairs, said.
Judges for the float parade came from the community and on-campus offices like Student Development and Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.
Students worked all through Friday night to build and decorate each float, which led to scattered power naps throughout Raley Saturday morning.
The late-night float building party, however, is part of the tradition.
“I think it gets people pumped and excited for the morning because not many people want to be there that early,” Jennifer Scott, senior child development major, said.
This year’s theme was “The Big Apple at 3,333 feet.” The parade was full of New York-esque skylines and taxi cabs.
Some floats, however, strayed away from the pack with a more original spin. Appalachian Educators modeled their float after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, with the desire to create a “black and gold” Christmas. Their float won second place in the parade.
Senior mathematics secondary education major Megan Kasper, who led the design for the float, has been actively involved in Homecoming the past three years, but Saturday was her first time getting to be in the parade.
“The hardest part was coming up with a design but now that we are building it we can finally have fun,” Kasper said.
Their float had Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus waving to the crowd along with other elements to create an early Appalachian Christmas.
Appalachian Ambassadors built a subway car for their float. The students found that the process of creating an idea turn into nailing the car together was the most gratifying part.
“Watching our dreams turn into a reality has been really rewarding,”Madisson Barnett,senior political science major, said.
Overall, the homecoming parade is a morning staple in the traditions Homecoming Brings.
“It shows the Appalachian desire, and the Appalachian drive and it brings a sense of community back to the entire Appalachian family,” Student Government Association Director of Student Affairs Ann Tate said.
Story: KAYLEY CAMPBELL, A&E Reporter