Penn State’s annual Homecoming parade will travel through campus and downtown State College on Friday evening, bringing with it road closures and parking, traffic and bus route changes.
The parade steps off at 6 p.m. from Curtin Road on campus. Tanisha Wright, former Penn State women’s basketball player and current head coach of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, is the 2023 Homecoming grand marshal and Blue Band Director Gregory Drane is the honorary grand marshal.
Porter Road between Curtin Road and the southernmost entrance to the Jordan East parking area will be closed from 4:30 p.m. until parade units have left the area at around 7 p.m.
Curtin Road will be closed from 4:30 p.m. through the conclusion of the parade.
The following roads along the route will be closed from 5:30 p.m. until the parade ends:
- Curtin Road between University Drive and Bigler Road
- Bigler Road between Curtin Road and Pollock Road
- Pollock Road between Bigler Road and Shortlidge Road
- Shortlidge Road between Pollock Road and East College Avenue
- College Avenue between Shortlidge Road and Burrowes Road
- Burrowes Road between College Avenue and Curtin Road.
Curtin Road will also be closed between Atherton Street and Burrowes Road from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. for the Guard the Lion Shrine event.
For spectators, the parade follows this route:
- Parade gathers on Curtin Road and travels west, crossing University Drive, where the parade will be joined by units that have formed in Orange B and on the IM fields north of the IM Building
- West on Curtin Road to Bigler Road
- South on Bigler Road to Pollock Road
- West on Pollock Road to Shortlidge Road
- South on Shortlidge Road to College Avenue
- West on College Avenue to Burrowes Road
- North on Burrowes Road to Curtin Road
- The parade will disperse at the Burrowes/Curtin intersection
See an interactive map here.
Penn State Parking
Paid visitor parking is available for $1 per hour at Penn State’s Nittany, East and West parking decks. Paid parking will be available in the HUB Deck, but vehicles will not be able to exit from 5:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the parade.
Faculty, staff and students who do not want to remain parked through the conclusion of the parade should leave the following lots by 5:30 p.m.
- Yellow H (Shields Building)
- Yellow H (Wagner Building)
- Orange J (McCoy Natatorium)
- Lot 42 (north of Building 14) – vehicles must exit via Millennium Drive to Hastings Road.
- Lot 81 (at Ritner/Wolf Halls and Pollock Building) – vehicles must exit to Mifflin Road then travel south to McKean Road
- HUB Parking Deck
- Yellow J (Atherton Hall)
- Yellow N (College Avenue in front of Health and Human Development)
- Red H (Noll Lab)
- Green C (Waring Commons)
- Red K (vehicles will be able to exit west through the 101 N. Atherton St. Building parking lot to travel northbound on Atherton Street)
Vehicles exiting the Jordan East lot will be required to use Dauer Road to University Drive or the southernmost exit to Porter Road near the outdoor track beginning at 5 p.m. Friday.
Borough Parking
Parking in downtown State College is available at the Beaver Avenue, Fraser Street and Pugh Street garages, as well as the McAllister Deck, Allen Stre Lot and Beaver Lot.
From noon on Friday to 2 a.m. on Monday, the borough will lift “no parking from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.” and one- and two-hour parking limits. Lawn parking is not permitted and all Pennsylvania Vehicle Code violations will be enforced.
All metered parking will be enforced from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
CATA and Campus Shuttle Services
Campus Shuttle service will end at 5 p.m. No CATA Bus service will be available to the following bus stops from 5 to 9 p.m.
- Curtin Road – Pattee Transit Center, Pavilion Theatre, Visual Arts Building, East Halls, Natatorium, IM Building, Shields Building, Bryce Jordan Ticket Center, and Stadium West Parking.
- Burrowes Rd – (all stops)
- Porter Road – Beaver Stadium, Athletic Administration, Jordan East Parking, and Medlar Field
- Hastings Road – (all stops)
- Bigler Road – (all stops)
- Pollock Road – (all stops)
- Shortlidge Road – (all stops)
- College Avenue – (all stops between University Drive and Atherton Street)
- Pugh Street – between Fairmont Avenue and College Avenue
Penn State’s Homecoming celebration culminates with the Nittany Lion football team’s game against UMass at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
