This weekend, The University of Alabama will have many homecoming activities to look forward to. The theme for this year’s homecoming is “Tide Together: Celebrating the Capstone Spirit,” and the events will include unveiling lawn decorations, a parade and a dodgeball tournament.

The events will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday when the lawn decorations that different student groups have been working on all week will be judged.

These lawn decorations are a long-lasting homecoming tradition of the University. Students typically spend hours creating them with tiny pieces of tissue paper, a process commonly referred to as pomping. 

Jordan Thigpen, a junior majoring in communicative disorders, said she is excited to see the decorations when they are done.

“I am looking forward to seeing how all of the decorations turn out especially considering all the hard work that has gone into them,” she said.

Additionally, a dodgeball tournament will take place on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Student Recreation Center.

The yearly Homecoming pep rally will occur Friday on the Quad starting at 6 p.m., followed by a bonfire. After the bonfire, students will be able to attend a step show at 8:30 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum.

Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m., the Homecoming parade will start in downtown Tuscaloosa and make its way toward campus. The football game will then kick off at 3 p.m. in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

This year, the Homecoming Executive Committee decided to create two competition divisions: Crimson Division and Tide Division. The Crimson Division is composed of any student organization that wished to participate, while the Tide Division is composed of any individuals. The only requirement to be a team in the Tide Division was to have the minimum number of participants.

This new system was formed to allow more students to participate. 

“I think it’s important for students to participate because it creates a sense of unity and strengthens our support for our school,” said Lexa Rains, a freshman majoring in English.

The teams with the most spirit points will be awarded with the Spirit Cup during halftime at the football game between Alabama and West Carolina on Saturday.

This year’s Homecoming queen court members are Kevyn Armstrong-Wright, Allison Montgomery, Karolyn Perry, Catherine Porter and Emily Zabor. A total of 8,188 votes were cast and the queen will be crowned during halftime.