Homecoming is one of the biggest events UNA hosts, and this year‘s celebration will be no exception. The theme for the week is, “Expanding the Legacy,” and the SGA University Program Council and the Office of Alumni Relations have been working hard to prepare the events Sept. 19-24.

The main event of homecoming is the football game, which will take place at Braly Stadium 6 p.m. Saturday. Saturday’s events also include the homecoming parade, which begins at 11 a.m.

Before the game on Saturday, there will be tailgating parties on Spirit Hill beginning at 4 p.m. The SGA will be giving away free Domino’s pizza, along with other giveaways.

UPC will kick off homecoming week by hosting “Foamapalooza,” a pre-homecoming foam party, Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Communications Building parking lot. The party will feature an inflatable pit that sprays non-toxic, anti-bacterial foam on those standing inside There will be a DJ, and the first 300 students will receive a glow necklace and bracelet.

David Johnson, spirit chair of SGA-UPC, gave some general guidelines for the event.

“Make sure you wear something you would wear to a water park, like a swimsuit under your T-shirts and shorts, or something like that,” he said.

Johnson also said that there will be showers set up to rinse off after the event.

The homecoming court nominations will be first announced at Foamapalooza, so Johnson recommends students be there to hear the announcement.

“We won’t be announcing it on Twitter or Facebook, so if you want to be the first to know, make sure you attend,” Johnson said.

The first event during the week of homecoming will be a performance by Recycled Percussion, a former “America’s Got Talent” contestant, Monday at Norton Auditorium. The doors will open at 7 p.m., and the concert will begin at 8 p.m.

“It’s a giant show where they use buckets, garbage cans, pans and other items as percussion items, but they don’t use ‘real’ instruments,” Johnson said.

The window painting competition will take place on Tuesday, and organizations that registered for the competition can paint their assigned window from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winners of the window painting competition will be announced Friday at the homecoming pep rally.

The pep rally will begin Friday at 9 p.m. at the Athletic Field beside Flowers Hall. All registered organizations must be present at 8 p.m.

At 6 p.m. Friday, all students are invited to be part of a panoramic picture of students and the Pride of Dixie Marching Band spelling out “UNA.” Students wishing to participate must wear white to be in the picture. The band will outline the letters in purple, and the students will fill in the letters in white.

There will be many events for alumni during homecoming, including the Jack Karnes Memorial Golf Tournament on Friday, the Alumni Awards Banquet on Friday, Reunions on Saturday and Tailgating parties on Saturday. For registration information for alumni events, contact Carol Lyles in the Alumni Office.

A noticeably absent event from the homecoming schedule is Step Show. Step Show will be held during Purple Reign week in November this year.

Johnson said that there has been nothing but positive feedback from organizations about moving Step Show.

“Everyone gets so worn out during homecoming week, so moving Step Show back has allowed the organizations to have more time to prepare and more time to enjoy the other events of homecoming week,” he said.

Homecoming Week Schedule

Thursday, Sept. 15

Foamapalooza 8-10 p.m.

Communications Parking Lot

Monday, Sept. 19

Recycled Percussion 8 p.m.

Norton Auditorium

Tuesday, Sept. 20

Window Painting Competition

GUC

Friday, Sept. 23

Pep Rally 9 p.m.

Athletic Field

Saturday, Sept. 24

Tailgating  4 p.m.

Spirit Hill

Homecoming Game 6 p.m.

Braly Stadium