Community Teams Up for Homecoming Parade Along New Route

Students from kindergartners to college seniors will continue the Homecoming Parade tradition in the streets of Fort Collins on Oct. 2.

The parade is scheduled to begin 9 a.m. along a new route that runs south on Howes Street starting at West Mountain Avenue, turns west on Laurel Street, south on Shields Street and east on Plum Street to the finish on the Colorado State campus. This year’s parade theme is "Decades of Discoveries."

Several community leaders will appear as special guests at the parade, including representatives from Colorado State University, Poudre School District, the City of Fort Collins, Front Range Community College and several longtime educators. There will also be the traditional marching bands, creatively assembled floats, vintage vehicles, horse units and novelty entries.

The parade typically reaches the Colorado State campus about 9:30 a.m. and ends around 11:15 a.m.

Traffic along the parade route will be diverted from about 8 a.m. to noon. Howes St. from Cherry St. to Laurel St. will be closed, Laurel St. will be closed from Howes St. to Shields St., Shields St. will be closed from Mulberry to Elizabeth Street and portions of streets that intersect the parade route also will be closed to traffic.

The Homecoming football game against New Mexico State begins at 1 p.m. that day at Hughes Stadium. Fans who live north of Prospect Road should use the main designated routes–Mulberry Street, or Prospect Road–to reach the stadium. Local traffic south of Prospect Road should use Drake Road.

For more information or to participate in the Community Homecoming Parade, contact Sandi Martin, (970) 490-3106, or Sonia ImMasche, (970) 491-0967.