Sitting atop a horse-drawn carriage, riding at the front of Saturday's Homecoming Parade line were the very excited William Garnes and Lauren Petersen, the 2009 Ball State University Homecoming king and queen.
"It's a great honor to represent Ball State," Petersen said. "I was not expecting to win, but I felt like I had already won throughout the week."
Garnes, however, was a bit less optimistic before winning.
"I really didn't expect to win," he said. "It was to the point where I told my parents not to waste the gas money coming to Air Jam."
Behind the carriage followed a variety of high school marching bands, student floats and business-sponsored vehicles adorned with logos and escorted by employees. The crowd stood on the sidewalks to watch as the parade traveled from Muncie Central High School to the middle of the Ball State campus.
Throughout the parade, participants littered the streets with sweets and passed out coupons. Children, under their parents' watch, ran alongside the parade, grabbing anything they could.
Fifth grader Caroline Clark was excited to be in the parade for the first time with her gymnastics troupe, Cole Academy.
"We get to throw candy at people," Clark said.
The cold weather didn't seem to reduce the crowd's spirits much, but some bystanders said the turnout was not as good as last year's parade.
Helen Stephenson, the office coordinator for Ball State's Student Voluntary Services, said she had higher hopes for the crowds.
"It'll pick up around University Avenue, I think," Stephenson said.
Senior Alicia Ransom was not discouraged by the smaller crowds and said the parade was better than last year's, even though it was shorter.
The crowds grew larger as the parade neared the Village and turned onto McKinley Avenue, where the cheers were often louder than the bands passing by. As the parade approached the finish line the participants passed a long line of judges who were watching for such things as originality, theme and spirit.
This year's student float designs ranged from Theta Chi's "I'm on a Float" to the balloon-filled stage of the University Singer's "Best Jazz Hands Ever" float, which included band members Angela Brewster, Trevor Junga, Matt McKibble, Nathan Shew and Jacob Foster.
Dalton Spencer of Lambda Chi Alpha, whose theme was the homecoming game, said his organization - like many others - started and finished their float late last night.
"Its kind of tradition to start your float the night before," said freshman Tyler Bridge of Theta Chi.
Recent Ball State graduate Stephanie Bruner said she was only able to attend her senior year Homecoming parade, but, now that she is out of college, she plans on making more of an effort.
"Homecoming is a tradition I'll be returning for every year," Bruner said.
For a recap of all the 2009 Homecoming events, click the banner below.
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