Homecoming Week at UND has been a long-celebrated event across campus. The Homecoming Parade is an annual event featured as part of UND Homecoming since 1921, and it still stands strong today as it takes place for the 98th time.  

This year, the Homecoming Parade started bright and early at 9 am on October 7th. With the help of dozens of volunteers, the parade featured a multitude of different floats driving down University Avenue.  

On Saturday morning, University Avenue was filled with parade-goers. Families gathered on sidewalks and students piled onto the curbs in crowds. With the grandiose sound of the marching band, the parade was soon underway.  

Andy and Kathy Armacost made an appearance at the start of the parade, throwing candy to the crowds down the sidewalk and kicking off the Homecoming Parade. Both the marching band and the cheer team followed suit, performing carefully orchestrated routines and interacting with the families and crowds. 

Several different UND organizations and clubs appeared at the parade, including the UND Social Work, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Nursing departments. The UND Staff Senate and Student Government had representatives walk through the parade, as well as several representatives of the UND Pride Center.  

When looking at community appearances, there were dozens of companies that showed up for the parade. Dakota Commercial, a local property management company, drove through with a tiny house in tow on a trailer. A handful of different local animal shelters, including Circle of Friends, brought smiles to all the paradegoers by driving through with a puppy in their passenger seats. Local radio stations KJ108 and The Fox 96.1 drove through the parade with music pumping, bringing energy to the morning. 

Cheers erupted from sports fans when a large semi-truck came maneuvering down the avenue with a North Dakota football decal plastered across it. The truck was staffed by S&S Transport, the official carrier of North Dakota football, and its appearance brought greater excitement and anticipation for the approaching game day.  

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the parade was when a SIM-ND vehicle proceeded down the street. SIM-ND is a mobile education system utilized by the UND School of Medicine, and it stands for Simulation in Motion. The SIM-ND system is a partnership for emergency patient care that utilizes human patient simulators to emanate real emergency situations. This powerful system being represented in the parade is a valuable way to draw attention to the advancements of the UND medical program, and it surely brought interest in UND’s newest progresses to the general public as well. 

While there were, of course, many other floats and appearances at the event, these were just a few that helped make this year’s homecoming parade a success. An annual occurrence, the UND Homecoming Parade will always be a beloved tradition that brings the community together and allows the school to be recognized for all the things that make it one of a kind.  

Ava Stockstad is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].