If you’re attending the 101st University of Tennessee Homecoming Parade at 4 p.m. Friday – the first time in 30 years that the UT Parade has rolled along Cumberland Avenue – here are some logistical details you need to know.
What, when, where
The parade steps off at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, from staging areas on Fort Loudon Boulevard and Circle Park Drive. The bands, floats and other parade participants will march north on Volunteer Boulevard to Cumberland, then turn left (west) on Cumberland before exiting onto 21st Street.
Cumberland Avenue will remain closed to vehicles from 5-6 p.m. for a post-parade celebration, where merchants will be offering specials, promotions and giveaways, and the floats will be parked on display. Admirers are encouraged to vote for their favorite float.
The theme for this year’s festivities is “HC 101: Intro to Rocky Top.” The parade’s grand marshals include Del and Dane Bryant, sons of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, a husband-wife songwriter team who generated a string of hits, including, of course, “Rocky Top.”
The parade includes the eighth annual Little Vol Walk, featuring children ages 10 and younger who will be riding on decorated wagons, strollers and tricycles.
For more details on the parade and other Homecoming events, or to read about Homecoming traditions, visit https://homecoming.utk.edu/.
Street closures
Cumberland Avenue will be closed starting at 3:30 p.m. Friday, and it will reopen about 6:30 p.m.
Two lanes of Lake Loudon Boulevard will be closed from 3-4 p.m. for the float lineup, and Volunteer Boulevard from Lake Loudon Boulevard to Cumberland Avenue will be closed from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Where to park
Parking is available at both the White Avenue and the Volunteer Hall garages on a first-come first-served basis.
Pay lots can be found throughout the Cumberland Avenue District. Metered on-street parking also is available on side streets throughout Fort Sanders. Pay attention to temporary no-parking signs or bagged meters, and remember to plug the two-hour meters in the area; parking enforcement by Public Building Administration personnel continues until 6 p.m.
Want to avoid the issue of parking altogether? Consider riding either a KAT bus or trolley to get close to the parade route.
KAT goes there
All Knoxville Area Transit buses will be running, but they’ll be detouring around the parade route from 3:15 until about 6:30 p.m. Friday.
KAT Routes 10 (Sequoyah Hills) and 11 (Kingston Pike) westbound buses will make a right turn off Cumberland Avenue onto 11th Street, then turn left onto Clinch Avenue and another left onto 22nd Street before reconnecting to Cumberland. (Inbound buses will follow the same route.)
KAT Route 17 (Sutherland Avenue) buses also will detour onto 11th Street, turning left onto Clinch Avenue and right onto 16th Street to reconnect with the regular route. (Route 17 inbound commuters will use this same route.)
KAT’s Orange Line trolley will be detouring off Cumberland Avenue at Phillip Fulmer Way to Lake Loudon Boulevard to Neyland Drive to Joe Johnson Drive to reach University Commons. The trolley will follow the reverse route back to downtown.
Riders on KAT’s Route 10, 11 and 17 buses wanting to attend the parade can get off the bus at Cumberland and 11th Street or at Cumberland and 22nd Street. Passengers on the Orange Line trolley can get off on Phillip Fulmer Way or at University Commons.
#VolFloat vote
The Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association has assembled prize packs worth thousands of dollars – everything from dinners to hotel stays to “Risky Business” sunglasses to canvas artwork.
Prizes will be given to the top three student teams, and the winners will be determined through social media. Anyone can vote for their favorite float using Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Just use the hashtag #VolFloat with the number of the float entry. For example, to vote for float entry No. 100, use the hashtag #VolFloat100.
In addition, three individuals who cast ballots for best float will be randomly selected and also will receive prize packs.
Live streaming
Can’t make it down to Cumberland to witness the parade in person? UT’s Alumni Affairs will be documenting the parade and sharing it using Facebook Live. The link is https://www.facebook.com/tnalumni/.