PINE BLUFF, Ark. — It’s another year of celebrating tradition in the City of Pine Bluff as the community gathered for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's Homecoming weekend.
"Since 1873, we've been educating students throughout Arkansas in the nation,” said University Chancellor Dr. Laurence Alexander
The homecoming parade was back in full swing for the first time since the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
"We have people come from all over for this parade because it represents one of the greatest traditions that we have," said Dr. Alexander.
Dr. Alexander said that homecoming weekend is all about bringing people together.
"We have parades, we have football games, we have parties, we have gatherings of the community," added Dr. Alexander.
Samuel Glover, Director of Parks and Recreation, said that homecoming draws in alumni from all over— which helps the city benefit in more ways than one.
"People come into the city, they buy a tank of gas, they buy food, they patronize the vendors, they come to the parks, they come downtown, they begin to network with people and all of those things create an economic impact," Glover described.
As family and friends celebrated, the one thing at top of everyone's mind was safety— especially for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
"The Pine Bluff Police Department, Arkansas State Police,” said Captain Yohance Brunson.
Captain Brunson said that they had several meetings with these agencies all in an effort to make sure that the weekend of celebration was safe for all.
“That way, if something does happen, we're all on the same page. We're gonna respond the same time and we're gonna be one group," said Brunson.