The University campus swarmed the rest of Eugene Saturday morning with drumlines, rickshaws and children on five-foot-tall unicycles.
The spectacle represented only a small part of the city of Eugene’s Parade of Champions, which, despite its 10 a.m. start time, attracted several thousand students and community members as it marched, wheeled and wobbled its way to the Park Blocks downtown. The parade celebrated the Oregon football team’s record season and other achievements by the University and the community.
“This was the biggest thing that’s happened in the five years I’ve lived here,” said James Book, an event organizer and member of the Cultural Services Advisory Committee. Book is also a spokesperson for the Ninkasi Brewery Company, which contributed a music-blasting Volkswagen Bus to the parade.
Starting on campus at the corner of East 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street, the parade traveled down to East 11th Avenue before turning and continuing on to Oak Street. From there, it turned and went another two blocks down to East 8th Avenue. The Park Blocks welcomed parade-goers with a stage and two large flat-screens on each side. Although there is no official count, the city estimated prior to the event that a crowd of as many as 20,000 people were expected to attend.
In all, the parade featured 49 organizations from the Eugene/Springfield area, including the Emerald City Roller Girls, the Samba Ja dance group, Springfield High School’s five-time state champion cheerleading squad, the local chapter of Special Olympics Oregon and a number of nonprofit organizations.
Twenty of the participating groups represented University programs, including the national champion debate team, the Oregon Marching Band, many of the University’s international students, and several academic departments, such as the College of Education and the School of Journalism and Communication. University President Richard Lariviere joined the procession, garbed in green and yellow regalia and accompanied by other administrative faculty.
“This event was something that brought people from all over the community and was a great way for us to celebrate the University being part of Eugene and Eugene being part of the University,” Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy said at the ceremony following the parade, noting that the city’s only traditional parade is the Eugene Celebration in late summer.
The audience witnessed a performance by the University’s Oregon Gospel Choir, which last October placed first in the country at the Disney National Choir Festival in Florida. Local group 4 to Fly also performed, as well as On The Rocks, the University’s all-male a cappella group made famous by its viral YouTube videos and recent appearance on NBC’s The Sing-Off.
Still, the highlight of the event for the audience remained the Oregon football team, which arrived in full as the tail-end of the parade, being transported on two long-bed trucks. Head coach Chip Kelly accompanied them to the stage, where he expressed appreciation for all of the team’s fans.
“As the speaker for this group, I can’t tell you have much (the support we get from this community) means to this football team,” Kelly said to a fervent crowd. “It’s not like this anywhere else in the country.”
The entire event concluded around 2 p.m., and Eugene’s downtown streets eventually resumed normal traffic functions. The parade appeared to be a success by most measures, but whether the parade returns next year will depend on the future performances of Eugene’s champions. Coach Kelly, it seems, has already marked it on his calendar.
“My thanks to Mayor Piercy and the parade organizers … my only suggestion is, let’s do it again year.”
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