The students of Dowagiac Union High School will bring their spin on cities like the Big Apple and Sin City to the people of the Grand Old City this Friday.

The annual Homecoming Parade hits the streets that afternoon at 5 p.m., before the Chieftains take the field against the Coloma Comets that evening. Floats from each of the four classes will travel through the nearby neighborhoods, starting from the high school parking lot before heading down Prairie Ronde, cutting through Orchard Street and then hitting Spruce Street all the way down to the Chris Taylor-Alumni Field.

The theme for the floats this year’s parade is famous cities, with each class tasked with bringing to life their representation of a major U.S. metropolis, said organizer and DUHS senior Ryan Millin.

“Everyone at the school is excited about the theme,” Millin said. “We usually have themes based off board games, candy or cartoons. I haven’t seen any other cities around do something like this, so I think we’ll stand out.”

Millin and her fellow seniors chose to base their float on Las Vegas; the juniors are doing Hollywood; sophomores on New Orleans; and the freshmen on New York City.

Per tradition, the teachers will judge each float before the parade kicks off, with coveted bragging rights up for grabs for the winning class. The judges will base their decision off several factors, which include best use of theme, most creativity, homecoming spirit and most student participation.

Millin is currently serving as the president of the high school’s student senate, and has led the committee in charge of organizing the parade this year.

More importantly, though, she has been part of the crew putting together the senior float. For her and her classmates, this is their last opportunity to finally win the judge’s award, as they have failed to in their previous three attempts, Millin said.

“It’s great to see everyone come together in our last year and make some memories together,” she said.

While Millin said she is confident in her class’ chances this year, she is just excited about the opportunity to enjoy one last parade with her classmates and the people who line the streets to watch it.

‘It’s fun but it’s not a huge parade, so it’s nice to see the community come out to watch what we’ve been working on,” she said.

The parade kicks off at 5 p.m. at Dowagiac Union High School, with the vehicles lining up starting at 4:30 p.m. Kickoff for the homecoming football game is at 7 p.m.