Homecoming organizers revamp celebrations into a Cardinals block party

Homecoming festivities are going to look a little different this year, but organizers say it should also look familiar to those who participated in RVTV the year before.

So what has changed? The length of the parade route has reduced significantly, and it will no longer start at the high school like in years past.

Instead, the parade participants will gather in the DMACC parking lot and make their way north on West Fourth Street North, east on North Fourth Avenue West, south on West Third Street North and then east on North Second Avenue West where it will end with a community pep rally on the north side of the square.

Every homecoming parade has ended in a downtown pep rally, so that remains the same. But what people can do before and after the parade is what really makes the festivities stand out from previous years. Food trucks and beverages, games, family-friendly activities and live music will all be available downtown.

The organizers of the Red & Black Block Party — Becca Decker, Chantelle Lundberg, KayLea Marchant, Kelly Sorenson and Erin Yeager — are taking inspiration from their experience facilitating the RVTV stop in Newton last year. Feedback showed community members wanted something similar year-round.

When it came time to address safety concerns about the parade from the city’s fire department and police department, organizers saw an opportunity not only to adhere to the growing uneasiness from public safety personnel but also reinvigorate and extend homecoming celebrations in the community.

“During RVTV the Cardinal regiment kind of had an impromptu parade down Second Avenue that we weren’t really counting on, but it turned out really cool,” Sorenson said in a recent interview with Newton News. “So we thought let’s do it. So we kind of decided to combine the events.”

Sorenson added that safety was a big issue when talking with the police and fire departments. She said the safety concerns about the parade route had been brewing for several years. Issues had arisen with major intersections and crossing First Avenue, which is also a state highway.

“It’s a big deal to shut down First Avenue,” Sorenson said. “We met as a group and this was the route that many heads worked together to come up with. The feedback we’ve gotten from school personnel — the actual participants in the parade — has been positive.”

The block party is a joint effort by Newton Community School District, Newton Main Street and the Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as the many volunteers who are devoting countless hours to make the event happen. Lundberg said the downtown setting lends itself well to community activity.

“A lot of other celebrations focus around that downtown area,” Lundberg said. “It’s set up to accommodate that and why would we not take advantage of that.”

The downtown will open for the homecoming events starting 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18. Sorenson said a number of social activities will be available, along with an Iowa Wild-sponsored street hockey rink. Live music from the band DiZclaimer will start at 7:30 p.m. Deckerations is the title sponsor of the block party.

Also debuting at the block party is what organizers are calling “Cardinal Games,” which will have teams of students and staff (and possibly alumni) competing in various games. What kinds of games are we talking about? Organizers are keeping it hush-hush to avoid teams practicing. But they did give some hints.

“They’re not all physical,” Lundberg said. “We want everybody to be able to do this. These are activities that (student athletes) would also be able to do and have coaches allow. At least we hope so. At the end there will be prizes, and it’s going to be happening all downtown so the community can be part of it.”

While organizers acknowledge that not everybody will be thrilled to find out that homecoming activities have changed, they hope people still give it a try to support the school district and the community. Four of the five main organizers are also Cardinal graduates and know just how important traditions are.

“I think it’s a really nice marrying of the tradition that homecoming has been and then this outpouring of support from RVTV,” Lundberg said.