Students, alumni and community members can tailgate and cheer on the Long Beach State Men’s basketball team while they play Caltech at this year’s homecoming game Saturday.
Starting at 11:30 a.m in front of The Walter Pyramid, homecoming attendees will be able to participate in activities provided by Beach Pride and other departments such as character drawings, photo booths and balloon animals.
“It brings everyone together, just to mutually cheer on our team and show off our school pride,” Beach Pride Lead Program Assistant Kaila-Marie Hardaway said.
This year there will also be a carnival ride called “The Hurricane” set up in the parking lot for the tailgate. A local band, the Emperor’s, will perform and KBeach Radio will be the DJ.
Hardaway said that last year’s theme, Long Beach State of Mind, was not shown as much in the event itself, so this year Hardaway wanted to embrace the theme.
The theme for this year’s homecoming is Olympics- Homecoming: Land of the Legendary. Hardaway said the organizers were inspired by the Summer 2016 Olympics.
In the past, Hardaway said other departments and student organizations have brought their own tents, food and drinks.
“It’s really getting everyone together, just saying we’re celebrating Long Beach State no matter how the game goes, we just want to make sure we have that school pride,” Hardaway said.
Every Homecoming, eight to ten students are picked for the Homecoming Court. The Homecoming Court interviews are still in process; however Beach Pride focuses on choosing students that are actively involved on campus.
“We’ll have them involved with a lot of actives to get people to vote for them, a lot of those actives are going to be Olympic themes,” Hardaway said. “From there we crown the Homecoming King and Queen. Which that adds to the events and gets people involved with it.”
The tailgate event will begin 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Shortly after, the Long Beach State’s Men’s Basketball team will be playing Caltech at 4 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.