The streets of Hammond came alive with music as hundreds of people gathered to participate in the 26th annual Krewe of Omega Parade.
The parade rolled from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and consisted of 48 units including 10 major floats from New Orleans, local floats, bands, cars and Miss Southeastern all revolving around the parade’s theme of board games. They began in Hammond and marched all the way to Roseland.
“Our parade is family oriented and it was a thrill for the king and queen to see so many families with their children,” said John Guzzardo, this year’s king of Krewe of Omega. “We were especially glad it didn’t rain on our reign.”
Last year’s parade was canceled due to excessive rainfall so this year the Krewe planned in advance to reschedule the parade for Saturday in case of inclement weather. Fortunately, the parade was spared.
“It’s not easy to put on a parade. I’ve worked on it for several months,” said Joyce Smith, captain of Krewe of Omega. “We have every mayor of every little town and the people meet and greet us and we welcome them to our parade.”
Though the parade officially started at 6:30 p.m. Krewe of Omega began their trek at 7 a.m. through several Louisiana towns inviting everyone to come to the parade and toasting every mayor and presenting them with a trinket from Omega.
“I thought it was one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had,” said Guzzardo. “The streets were totally packed from the beginning to the very end, especially when we got downtown.”
Many people were moved by the OPTIONS float at the end of the parade. OPTIONS is a non-profit organization who enable those with developmental disabilities to live and work in their community.
“My favorite float was the OPTIONS float because you get to give your beads back to help people with special needs,” said Claire Salinas, sophomore communications major. “I threw my beads back into the OPTIONS float because the people with disabilities needed them more.”
Some students were especially captured by the colorful displays of the Omega floats.
“The parade is very colorful and everyone’s having a blast,” said Zach Naquin, freshman kinesiology major. “I heard people screaming and came outside to see the parade. I’m going to hang the beads in my dorm.”
In addition to the parade, community members were able to attend “In the Zone” at 5 p.m. in front of the on campus lab school. The event included live music, an inflatable, food, beverages, games, gift bags, face painting and more.
“It’s an alcohol and tobacco free area, and this is the second year that we’ve done this here,” said Annette Baldwin, fresh campus advisor. “We wanted to create a family friendly environment for the Omega Parade.”
In the Zone was sponsored by TRACC Coalition, Crime Stoppers, PEEPS, Fresh PEEPS, Volunteers of America and Tobacco Free Living.