Week packed with competitions, events for students
Homecoming week started Sunday with Dance Marathon’s FT5K and competing organizations painting banners and storefront windows, but there’s still a week full of events on the way.
The Homecoming Kick-Off event takes place on Greene Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.
Students will be able to play on inflatables while free promotional items from Homecoming as well as from local and national companies are given away. Students can also snack on free cotton candy and popcorn and buy Homecoming T-shirts.
“I personally like kickoff because it’s the event that gets people excited about Homecoming and it puts it on everyone’s radar,” said Valerie Cumpston, this year’s Homecoming commissioner. “It shows everyone that it’s really a week for school spirit.”
Also on Monday is Spurs and Struts, a dance competition for organizations in Homecoming, on Greene Street at 8 p.m. All of the competing organizations are Greek letter organizations, except dance group Rik-A-Sha, which is paired with Alpha Phi Omega coed service fraternity.
The Showcase will take place on Tuesday at the Coliseum at 7 p.m. It is a traditional, pageant-style event in which contestants are judged based on talent, formal wear and interview sections of competition. Fraternity and sorority members dominate the Showcase lineup, with nine of 10 finalists coming from Greek letter organizations.
Wednesday night features Cockfest, with a corn hole tournament from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a concert from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The concert will include performances from local bands 76 and Sunny, Atlas Road Crew and Spotlight Observations.
“The corn hole tournament is different than anything we’ve ever done before,” Cumpston said. “We just thought we’d try it out. We figured it’d hit a huge market at USC. We’re hoping that it will be a hit among everyone.”
Groups will be creating art out of nonperishable food items at Canned Creations on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Greene Street. The structures, which must go along with the “United States of Carolina” theme, will then be judged by the Homecoming Committee and given first-, second- and third-place points. The cans are then donated to Harvest Hope Food Bank.
The Homecoming Parade takes place at 3 p.m. Friday, and includes USC alumni and the Columbia community in addition to students. Student organizations, athletic teams and representatives from different USC colleges and departments participate in the event.
“That’s really one of our main events that also involves the Columbia community,” Cumpston said. “A lot of alumni get involved, which is fun … They do a lot for the school but never really get a lot of recognition.”
The Step Show, which is at 7 p.m. in the Carolina Coliseum, also takes place on Friday. It features National Pan-Hellenic Council sororities and fraternities performing step dance.
“It’s always the event that has the most hype and gets everyone excited, so it’s a great note to end on,” Cumpston said.
Homecoming will culminate on Saturday when the Gamecocks face off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, with a 12:21 kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium.