With hammers pounding and saws cutting wood, the SIUC Student Alumni Council is turning a flat-bed trailer into a large float for Saturday’s Homecoming parade.

The parade will take place at 9:30 a.m., winding through downtown Carbondale, featuring 16 floats.

The SAC has been participating in the Homecoming parade since 1976 and looks forward to building the Homecoming float every year.

Advertisement

In accordance with this year’s Homecoming theme A Saluki Salute to the Sixties, the SAC float is based on the show American Band Stand, and the whole flat bed will be a huge TV set. Those watching the parade will be looking at the show.

The float also will feature songs from the 60s, and the members of the club will be dancers from the show. The band Three Dawg Night will be played by the Saluki Dawgs.

The Dawgs and their owners have been on the SAC float for the past five years.

Melissa Pearson, a sophomore in environmental engineering from Rockford and special events chairwoman for the club, said she is glad that the SAC gets to have the University’s mascot on its float.

The Dawgs play a role in our float, she said. We never have had problems with them.

Jill Manka, a graduate student in marketing from Rantoul and vice president of external affairs, said the end product will be a great accomplishment.

After spending a lot of time on the float, it is really rewarding to get finished, she said. Working on the float is very relaxing. It gives me a way to take my mind off of my classes for a short amount of time.

Advertisement*

The SAC has spent two weeks perfecting its float.

Donald Gibbs, a senior in management from Princeville, has done a lot of the painting and hammering on the float.

You see something come out of nothing, he said. This was an empty trailer bed a week ago, and now it will become a float that we are proud of.

Manka said that the after spending much time on the float, the group always is happy with the outcome.

You want the float to look like what you pictured in your head, Manka said. For the most part, it comes out just the way you planned it to, and you are pleased with the results.

Pearson said the best part about the building of the float is getting to be with the other people in the organization.

This builds better and stronger friendships, she said. It’s not like just sitting around at a meeting just looking at each other, we are working together.

Other floats are being made by Alpha Chi Omega/Alpha Gamma Rho, Lambda Chi Alpha/Delta Sigma Phi/Sigma Alpha, Phi Sigma Kappa, Theti Xi, Alpha Gamma Delta/Sigma Nu, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Pi/ Sigma Sigma Sigma and Sigma Phi Epsilon/Sigma Kappa.

Small floats will include Criminal Justice Association, Jackson County Democrats, Residence Hall Association, Tumble Towers, SIUC Circle K and Mae Smith Hall Council.