EAST LANSING, Mich. — The 2021 Michigan State University (MSU) Homecoming Parade will take place this Friday, Oct.1, beginning at 6 p.m.
This year’s MSU Homecoming theme is “Spartans Journey Together,” and the Grand Marshal is Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee – a graduate of MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and the first African American woman to serve as dean of a U.S. medical school. Ross-Lee’s contributions have enriched the Spartan journey, laying a path that is bolder and brighter for those who follow.
The 2021 MSU Homecoming Parade will begin at the Abbot-Burcham intersection (staging at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center) and travel south on Abbot Road, east on Grand River Avenue, south at Farm Lane onto the MSU campus and end at the intersection of Farm and Shaw lanes.
Community members are invited to don their green-and-white gear and line the streets of the parade route. Additionally, community members can show their Spartan spirit by participating in MSU’s “Glow Green” tradition by swapping out their front porch, window, room or any other light bulb in their home with a green light bulb.
Community members are advised that several East Lansing streets and intersections will be closed Friday, Oct. 1 to accommodate the parade. Please note that some of the roadway re-opening times are approximate. Roadways will re-open once the last parade unit has passed through:
- Abbot Road, from Burcham Drive and Grand River Avenue, from 5:30-7:15 p.m.
- Grand River Avenue, between Abbot Road and Farm Lane, from 5:30-7:15 p.m.
These streets near the East Lansing Hannah Community Center (ELHCC) will also be closed Friday, Oct. 1 for parade staging:
- Abbot Road, between Oxford Road/Whitehills Drive and Burcham Drive, from 2:30-7 p.m.
- Centerlawn Avenue, from Abbot Road to Forest Street, from 2:30-7 p.m.
- Northlawn Avenue, from Abbot Road to Forest Street, from 2:30-7 p.m.
- Evergreen Avenue, from Centerlawn Avenue to Northlawn Avenue, from 2:30-7 p.m.
- Forest Street, from Centerlawn Avenue to Northlawn Avenue, from 2:30-7 p.m.
- Fern Street, from Abbot Road to Evergreen Avenue, from 2:30-7 p.m.
- Burcham Drive (westbound), between Old Hickory Lane and Abbot Road, from 2:30-7:15 p.m.
- Please note that additional streets may be blocked temporarily leading to the parade route.
City Closures: Please note that the ELHCC will close at noon on Oct. 1 for parade staging. Any vehicles remaining in the parking lot after noon on that day will be towed. Additionally, the East Lansing Public Library (ELPL) will close at 2 p.m. on Oct. 1. Vehicles will be able to leave the ELPL parking lot up until 2:30 p.m.
For more information about MSU Homecoming, visit www.homecoming.msu.edu. Go Green!