On Oct. 17, the Homecoming parade returned and with it came a whole new look. The State High Homecoming Parade has been a staple State College event for years with thousands of people showing up just to watch, and this year a few changes were made that altered how the whole operation takes place.

The parade is a time when the State College community is brought together to admire the floats. Senior Inhye Sung recounted what the parade meant to her.”Because throughout the year we are so separated, during Homecoming it feels like we are such a big community,” Sung said. 

Junior Veer Patel expanded upon this idea. “Just seeing all the kids waiting for candy, it’s just a really nice community-building activity. You just get a lot of students interacting with younger kids, it’s just a really fun time.”

The parade took on a completely new look compared to the years of the past. The coordinator of the parade, social studies teacher Trevor Dietz, laid out the new plan.

“We are now staging all of our Homecoming floats in one location. In the past, we have staged our Homecoming floats in two different locations, which have been in the South lot behind the high school, and then we’ve also staged in the lot across the street that is bordering Delta and the North turf,” Dietz said.

The altered lineup aims to avoid confusion and stops during the parade. 

 “In the past, we have had a specific lineup where there was a specific designated spot order for each float in the parade, but we’ve had to move away from that this year because of the spacing. We need to ensure that we’re being as efficient as possible,” Dietz said. Instead of assigning floats to specific locations in the lineup, it will now be determined by the order floats arrive. 

The Homecoming parade is a staple tradition as a time when the community comes together to celebrate, dance, and cheer. Though some things have changed, it is still enjoyed by numerous people each year.