Student organizations big and small took center stage Tuesday evening at the annual Homecoming event , Airbands.  The event, which took place in a packed Eisenhower Auditorium, ran from 7-9pm.  The crowd loved the event’s surprise guest host, Bronne from the Real World: Cancun.  He entertained the crowd between the acts and also created some excitement by throwing Homecoming t-shirts into the crowd. 

Performances kept the audience entertained the whole with song choices ranging from childhood movies such as Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast, to TV show classics like Sesame Street and Fresh Prince of Bel Aire.  Performers added to their performances with elaborate costumes and props to go along with their chosen theme. 

The event ran smoothly with the exception of one small hiccup; during ATLAS  Thon’s performance featuring boy bands and pop stars the sound system failed and the music cut out.  There was some confusion at first, but then in true Penn State fashion, the crowd picked up where the music left off and ATLAS finished their dance to the audience singing their songs. 

There were ten stars of the evening that shone especially bright, the members of the 2009 Homecoming Court.  They dazzled the crowd throughout the evening with humorous skits in-between organizations performances, and in a Homecoming first, the court also performed their own dance as part of Airbands.

Although, everyone put on an entertaining performance, only two groups could go home with the title of the 2009 Airbands Champions.  Lion Ambassadors won for Best Independent Organization as they traveled through time, giving the audience a glimpse of Penn State history through song and dance.  As for the Best Greek performance, that went to Theta Chi Omega and Phi Sigma Rho with their own musical rendition of the “Toy Story.” 

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On Tuesday, the HUB was decorated with a “Past to Present” theme honoring Penn State’s Homecoming tradition, dating back to when the school’s colors were pink and black.  On the first level of the HUB, where Homecoming merchandise and Homecoming Court tables were set up, the floor traveled back in time and was decorated with pink and black streamers, paw prints, and pictures showing what Penn State student life was like at the time.  As you traveled down the stairs to the ground level, a huge balloon display hung above student’s head reading “Past to Present”.  As students reached the bottom of the steps, they were greeted with free popcorn, music, and pictures of recent Penn State events and pop culture figures, some of which who have visited campus over the past few years. The theme for the floor was everything blue and white, with streamers and balloons decorating the walls.  Throughout the event, which took place from 10AM TO 4PM, various clubs performed on stage and the Homecoming Court made appearances, even putting on a fashion show to show off the Homecoming merchandise that was being sold upstairs.  Whether students were eating lunch at the tables or passing through the HUB on their way to class, they couldn’t ignore the Penn State pride being displayed for Homecoming Week 2009!

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On Monday, at East Halls a celebration was held from 4-8 p.m. for all freshmen.  It was an event that was attempting to acquaint all new students to the Penn State Homecoming tradition.  The Homecoming court made an appearance and got introduced to all students.  Entertaining bios were read off describing the involvement of each candidate while students considered who is vote worthy.  A lot of them also talked with the freshmen to give them a better idea of who they were as a person and why they should be chosen for the Homecoming court. 

The dynamic brothers of Alpha Kappa Psi stepped danced at the event, along with a performance by the Orchesis dance company.  Smooth moves put on by these parties helped to catch the eye of passerby, and make students stop and pay attention to the event.  Voting booths were open during the entire time so someone could vote at any given moment.  Along with easy access to voting, there was free food given out as an incentive for students to stop by.  A wide variety of Insomnia cookies were served and this helped put a smile on the faces of many voters.

 This event helped to spark interest in Homecoming for a lot of students, and increased the voter turnout because of easy access to voting booths.  The East Halls commons was decorated with glittering posters of the themes of various Homecoming floats.  This was good because it allowed the students to see the ideas behind each float, and understand all the work certain organizations put into all of this.  Overall, the celebration turned out to be a great success!  Many students left with a better understanding of Homecoming tradition and what it really means to a Penn Stater.

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Homecoming Week 2009 kicked off yesterday with the first annual 5k.  Students, alumni and members of the community all came out for a run to celebrate the start of Homecoming Week. The race began at 12 PM at the IM building, but the event started around 11 AM with an entertainment hour and free food.  The Nittany Lion, Penn State cheerleaders, members of the Blue Band, RAM squad and Kappa Alpha Psi were all there to perform and cheer on the runners. There was a great turn out for the 5k and it was a lot of fun for everyone involved.  At night, the dance competition for  ”Penn State’s Best Dance Crew” and the Jack’s Mannequin concert took over Rec Hall in honor of the first night of Homecoming 2009. So many students came early to watch fellow Penn State students rock the stage for the dance competition. There were many unique performances and jaw dropping moves from various dance clubs.  Following the dance performances, the audience voted for their favorite by cheering.  The Urban Dance Team won and will be performing at the pep rally in Rec Hall on Friday night.  After the dance competition wrapped up, the Jack’s Mannequin concert sponsored by SPA and Penn State Homecoming began. Students went crazy for the band and leader singer Andrew McMahon put on a great show for Penn State. The band entertained the crowd with a set that lasted about an hour and half.  Jack’s Mannequin closed with a cover of Tom Petty’s song “American Girl”. There was such a positive response and good turnout. Homecoming week has officially begun! Be sure to come out to the rest of the events throughout this week!

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On April 21st and April 24th from 10-4 in the HUB, and April 24th from 10-4 at the Creamery, Homecoming will be selling merchandise for the 2009 Homecoming year! Look out for new and different logos as well as apparel. This sale will feature baseball hats, men’s and women’s shorts as well as t-shirts. Become a part of the tradition and get excited to Remember The Lion Within!

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Tuesdays Airbands competition brought dozens of campus organization to the Eisenhower Auditorium to show their skills.  A show complete with Penn State History and even some Disney History, the audience was pleased with the outcome.  The winners this year was the Penn State Lioon Ambassadors, who performed “Jomeo and Sueliette” to a mixture of songs for judges that included sue Paterno herself and Football player Deon Butler.  In second place was another Penn State heavy perfor5mance by Theta Delta Chi and Orchesis dance team.

Another HOmecoming event took place yesterday in the hub, telling students all about Homecoming history here at Penn State.  It was the first ever Past to Present Celebration, and the event had everything from history to last years THON line dance and performances by the International Dance ensemble.  Students grazing their lunch in the HUB were taken back by all of the fun Past to Present had to offer.

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