The A&T Homecoming Parade is Back!
By Daniel Ward, N.C. A&T State University / October 28, 2022
From Lindsay to Laurel Street, excited fans will line the streets as NC A&T’s Homecoming parade makes its way through the university’s campus for the first time in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As is tradition, the parade is led by The Blue and Gold Marching Machine, A&T’s very own marching band, Golden Delight dancers and flag bearers. This is just one of the band’s many performances that take place around the country, including a performance this fall during halftime of a Detroit Lions NFL football game and a band performance at Disney World.
The A&T Homecoming Parade will consist of the A&T Alumni Band, middle and high school marching bands, local dance troupes, campus organization queens and floats featuring the 2022 A&T Homecoming Queen and her Royal Court, sorority and fraternity queens, young students from the N.C. A&T Learning Lab with their parents, alumni floats and more all displaying their Aggie spirit. Additional participants include local recreational football teams and even political candidates running for elected office.
“I’m especially proud of our band and excited to see them perform for the parade, considering that they are celebrities now!” said Alana Ellerson, a newly minted alumna of A&T (Class of 2022).
For many Aggie fans, the parade is just as exciting as the football game, the tailgating or the concerts. These individuals, whether they be alumni, students, Greensboro natives and residents, all identify with the sense of community that happens during the Homecoming Parade. This is the epitome of “Aggie Pride” for many.
“I’m glad the parade is back, it feels like it isn’t really GHOE without the parade,” said Alvin Crawford, a 1990 alumnus who has been to previous homecomings. “I mean, the game and concerts and all that are great, but the community is in the parade…”
The 2022 A&T Homecoming Parade begins 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. It starts at the intersection of Lindsay Street and Murrow Boulevard and will move towards the N.C.A&TSU campus along Lindsay Street. It will then turn right onto Laurel Street, where it will come to an end.
The 2022 Homecoming Parade will have a shorter route this year than previous years. Years prior, the route began at Murrow Blvd. and ended at Aggie Stadium (Now Truist Stadium). Parking for the parade is not provided, so fans and watchers will have to find parking on their own.
Daniel Ward is a North Carolina A&T State University junior studying multimedia journalism. He is from Goldsboro, N.C.
