This year’s homecoming parade will be “Choose Huskie Tradition.”

The parade kicks off at 9 a.m. on Oct. 13 on the corner of Garden Street and Lucinda Avenue, will continue west on Lucinda through the residence halls and end at the Convocation Center, 1525 W. Lincoln Highway.

“It’s the theme for the whole Homecoming Week,” said Becky Harlow, assistant director for the university’s Student Involvement in Leadership Development. “We kind of carry that over into the parade.”

Harlow said the parade’s route affords many students the opportunity to watch the parade without having to travel far.

“It’s right in their own backyard,” Harlow said.

Today is the last official day to submit an entry for the parade, but exceptions may be made.

“We want as many businesses and organizations as possible,” Harlow said.

“The published deadline is October 8, but they can call to see if submissions are still being taken. We can do it on a case-by-case basis. There’s always the possibility.”

Parade planners are expecting around 75 entries. Last year’s 2006 celebration marked DeKalb’s Sesquicentennial and NIU’s 100th Homecoming, and parade efforts were combined.

“It’s definitely going to be smaller this year,” Harlow said. “I’m hoping that it’s going to be a lot more NIU organizations. While it will be smaller, I think it will be more intimate and more for the NIU community.”

Director of athletic bands Dr. Thomas Bough is in his third season at NIU and said the band is looking forward to being a “spark plug for the crowd.”

“We focus primarily on the fight song,” Bough said. “We kind of see it as an early start on tailgating, and we want to get people fired up.”