SAVANNAH, Ga. — Savannah State University took its homecoming celebration into the heart of downtown Savannah on Saturday morning, as the annual parade drew students, alumni, families and fans to line the route and cheer on the Tigers.
The parade stepped off from a staging area on East Broad Street between Gwinnett and Liberty streets, headed north to Broughton Street, turned west along Broughton and then ran south on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard before breaking up south of Gwinnett Street.
The Savannah Police Department set the parade window from 9 a.m. to noon and began closing streets along the route at 5 a.m. Parking was barred on parts of East Broad, Broughton and MLK from midnight until 3 p.m., and the department warned that cars left in those zones would be towed at the owner’s expense.
Chatham County Sheriff Richard Coleman, who turned out for the event, called the homecoming parade one of the richest traditions in the county and in the city that bills itself as the Hostess City.
The parade was the morning kickoff to a full day. It set the stage for the Tigers’ homecoming matchup with Fort Valley State that evening, and festivities carried on with the Homecoming Tailgate Experience. A second round of street closures was set around Ellis Square from 8 p.m. into early Sunday to handle the night crowds downtown, and rideshare pickups were steered into a geofenced zone at the south end of the square.
After the homecoming weekend, the Tigers are back on the road this Saturday at Kentucky State.
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