The route was lined with people of all ages smiling, laughing and interacting with the parade floats and different MSU/Lansing-area organizations. Best of all was the children who made sure to get every piece of candy thrown out, even if it meant clearing the streets of any stray pieces. 

The floats slowly progressed down Grand River Avenue with MSU ROTC leading the way and Zeke the WonderDog not far behind. Music from the Spartan Marching Band boomed through the streets and acted as a backdrop for all the parade floats to come. Dozens of MSU and community groups walked in the parade representing sports teams, RSOs, MSU administration, alumni and groups from the surrounding schools.

For some in attendance, this was their first MSU Homecoming Parade, and although it was their first time, the Spartan spirit came naturally.  

MSU alumna Rachel Turpin came back to campus for her first MSU Homecoming since graduating with a degree in communications in 2023. 

"This is my first time back for Homecoming," Turpin said. "I’ve been back a couple times for miscellaneous and football games, but this is my first time back for Homecoming. Every time I drive back to the city of East Lansing, I have a big smile on my face because I love it so much, I had a great 4 years here."

Turpin came back to East Lansing for her first Homecoming as an alumna, but was also attending the Homecoming Parade for the first time. 

"This is my first Homecoming Parade in general, I’m excited to see how it all works out and how long it is," Turpin said. "This is so fun, it really gets everyone in the spirit for the weekend."

For attendees like Turpin, this year’s Homecoming Parade was a first, but for others in attendance, this year’s parade wasn’t their first rodeo. 

Tony Keck graduated from Michigan State with his bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 1992 and a graduate degree in adult corrections in 1999. Although he graduated over two decades ago, his family still maintains strong ties to the University. 

"We live here; I used to jog down to campus from our house," Keck said. "We live in Okemos, so we spend all of our time on campus and in East Lansing. One of our sons, when he was born, his first words were ‘Go green’...and he went to the coach’s show against Michigan 10 days after he was born."

On top of that, the family has maintained a tradition of attending Michigan State Homecoming celebrations for over 13 years. Keck also spoke about the lifelong friendships he made during his time at Michigan State. 

"My buddies from almost 40 years ago, we still get together all the time for football games," Keck said. "I’ve had the same friends for 38 years. We lived in Akers, so they lived on the same floor. We made lifelong friends. It’s a great campus; it’s a great school; it’s a great town, we just love it."

Keck spoke about the experience of attending the Homecoming Parade and the feeling of community that the parade fostered.  

"It’s a great experience seeing all the alumni coming back and all the kids seeing all of this," Keck said. "It’s nice to see everybody come together, you see people who came here in the 40s coming back."

Keck attended the parade with his brother Tony and his wife, Soleil Campbell, who also attended Michigan State and majored in psychology. She spoke to the lifelong Spartan spirit that MSU creates. 

"You can meet anybody who’s from Michigan State, and you can walk in and say, ‘Go green’ and they’ll say, ‘Go white’ right back to you," Campbell said. "You’ve got the culture that goes with you for the rest of your life."

The MSU men’s and women’s basketball teams rode down Grand River on top of fire trucks with their arrival announced by dozens of screaming attendees. Other standout groups included the MSU Pompon team, who kept in lockstep as they progressed down the parade route, and the MSU Wake Club, who moseyed down the street in a yacht towed by a pickup truck with club members "wake surfing" off the back.  

As the floats and differing groups passed, watchers shouted, cheered, reached for candy and called out to friends and family walking in the parade. One standout attendee was Leonard Dufauchard, a man who did not attend Michigan State, but still embodied the Spartan spirit to the max. 

"I think of it as community, we live in Lansing," Dufauchard said. "I feel like this is all part of the experience of living in the community. We get to see all that the school has to offer."

Dufauchard recently moved to the Lansing area three months ago with his wife who is an MSU alumna and spoke to the unique inclusiveness that the MSU community offers. 

"We’ve only been here for three months and I’m consistently surprised about how easily I can integrate," Dufauchard said. "I feel as though I’m part of it and I'm three months in."

Throughout the parade, Dufauchard interacted with the parade groups and fostered a community around him with his silly jokes and comments. He embodied an uninhibited joy that was commonplace throughout the evening and served as a good reminder that the Spartan spirit is bigger than just MSU.

Around 8:00 p.m. the final groups made their way down Grand River with the flashing blue and red lights of East Lansing police signaling the end of a fun and spirited evening.