The 2009 Homecoming Parade will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, at Thirteenth and Philadelphia streets.
For the third year, the Homecoming parade route will include the IUP Oak Grove as a spectator area. From Thirteenth and Philadelphia streets, the parade will travel east to Sixth and Philadelphia streets, south on Sixth Street to Church Street, west on Church Street to Oakland Avenue, and southwest on Oakland Avenue to Eleventh Street, where the parade will disband. All motor-driven floats will continue southwest on Oakland Avenue to the Robertshaw building for disassembly.
The parade will feature nearly seventy campus and community units. IUP’s Department of Military Science howitzer cannon, which will be located near the Indiana County Court House, will fire to signal the start of the parade. This year’s parade theme is “Our Global Community: Cities Around the World.”
Questions regarding the IUP Homecoming Parade may be directed to the Center for Student Life at 724-357-2598 or rdkutz@iup.edu.
Highlights from the ’08 Parade:
Two members of the class of 1959, both elementary education graduates, served as grand marshals for the 2008 parade. They were Shirley Gibson Pow of Beaver, who retired in 1999 from her position as coordinator of the Beaver Area School District gifted program, and Norma Freliche Zimmer of Pittsburgh, who retired in 1964 from her position as an elementary teacher from the Penn Hills School District.
Six marching bands participated in the parade from the following schools: IUP, Blairsville High School, Homer-Center Junior-Senior High School, Indiana Area Senior High School, Penns Manor Junior-Senior High School, and Purchase Line High School.
Floats for last year’s parade include “Peanuts Gang” by Phi Kappa Tau, Alpha Gamma Delta, Sigma Tau Gamma, Delta Zeta, and Acacia; “GI Joe” by Chi Phi, Kappa Sigma, Zeta Tau Alpha, and Delta Phi Epsilon; “Scooby Doo” by Sigma Pi, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and Gamma Sigma Sigma; “Smurfs” by Alpha Xi Delta, Sigma Kappa, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Theta Chi; “Flintstones” by Phi Kappa Psi, Alpha Chi Rho, Alpha Sigma Tau, and Theta Phi Alpha; and “Looney Tunes” by Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Chi, Delta Gamma, and Alpha Sigma Alpha.
IUP’s 2008 Homecoming royalty rode on the Sutton Hall float, provided by the Reschini Group. IUP’s Homecoming King and Queen were Brendan Markham of Newtown and Anna Leigh Goth of Littlestown. Homecoming King and Queen for the Punxsutawney campus were John Lay of Fredericksburg, Va., and Adrienna Troisi of Pocono Lake. First runners-up for the Indiana campus were Donovan Daniel and Keya S. Middleton, both of Philadelphia.
Judges for the float competition were Claire Hogan, representing Indiana Borough Council; Michael Dolinger, alumni representative; Meghan McCarthy, student representative; and Michael Hood, dean of the College of Fine Arts.
The first-place float award of $1,000 was sponsored by the IUP Alumni Association, second place by the Indiana Mall Association ($900), third place by the Co-op Store ($800), fourth place by IUP Student Government Association ($700), and fifth place by the Foundation for IUP ($600).
Two reviewing stands were in place last year: one at 601 Philadelphia Street and the other along Oakland Avenue in front of Johnson Hall. Renda Broadcasting was in the parade broadcasting live. A rebroadcast of the parade was also shown later in October on WIUP-TV (Comcast station 20).
