Penn State students and fans celebrate the 104th Homecoming Parade

The Penn State community gathered on the streets of State College this past Friday, Oct. 13th to celebrate the annual Penn State Homecoming Parade.

This year’s parade theme was “Illuminating The Lion Within” and it prepared the community for the Homecoming football game against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.

The Homecoming parade is a time-honored tradition that brings Penn State fans together from across Pennsylvania and the country.

Sarah Ket, a junior studying cybersecurity at Penn State Harrisburg, said she drove to State College just for the parade.

“The parade so far is really interesting,” Ket said. “I go to Penn State Harrisburg so coming up here was nice and very fortunate.”

The parade featured Penn State sports teams, the Blue Band, fraternities, sororities, alumni chapters, musicians, various clubs and community organizations.

One of the most anticipated floats in the parade is the THON float that reveals the yearly THON theme, this year’s being “Treasure Every Adventure.”

Behind the scenes, over 100 students work on 14 different committees to bring the parade to life.

Sidney Wolf, a junior majoring in economics and advertising, was responsible for announcing parade floats and providing commentary as one of the emcees for this year’s parade.

“The energy out here is great,” Wolf said. “Everybody's just alive with the Penn State spirit.”

Olivia Blumetti, a junior studying elementary and early childhood education, was responsible for logistical aspects of the parade as this year’s Homecoming OPPerations captain.

“We were up at 4 a.m., we’ve been setting up the route since then,” Blumetti said. “Honestly seeing the smiles on everybody’s faces makes it all worth it.”

The Penn State Blue Band closed the parade by marching and ‘raising the song.’

Danielle Dempsey is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email did5338@psu.edu.