For the first time in 30 years, the University of Tennessee Homecoming Parade will travel down Cumberland Avenue.
The last time the parade route weaved its way through campus and down the strip was in 1987. Most of the students currently at UT were not even born.
"For the first time in 30 years we decided to bring it back because all of the construction is finally done on Cumberland Avenue," said Tyger Glauser, Assistant Director at the UT Center for Student Engagement. "We're hoping that if all goes well tomorrow it will become a new tradition and we'll continue doing it for years to come."
In the 1920s and 30s Cumberland Avenue was one of the nicest neighborhoods in Knoxville. It bordered a still small University of Tennessee, and looked nothing like it does now.
By the 1950s, the area had gained a reputation for its live music. It grew even bigger by the 1980s.
"In the 80s REM, for example, used to play at a bar on Cumberland Avenue all the time," Jack Neely, executive director of the Knoxville History Project, said. "As the university grew, Cumberland Avenue reflected more and more what the students wanted."
The parade this Friday will begin at 4 p.m. at Circle Park.
It will travel down Cumberland and end near 21st Street.
