The residents along the peaceful streets of Charleston were startled early Saturday morning as crowds of all sizes and ages filtered onto the curbsides.

Orange fences were secured around yards and families and alumni were finding prime seating for the 2010 Homecoming parade.

As the parade started, the streets were abuzz with screams of the students within the fences, local marching bands and shouts for candy from children.

At 10:25 a.m. the Charleston Fire Department, which led the parade, rounded the corner of Polk Avenue and Sixth Street, meeting the halfway mark of the parade route.

An array of chants for President William Perry, the Panther Marching Band and other organizations could be heard from the bleachers filled with students in front of the Sigma Pi house on Sixth Street.

Different organizations from the Eastern and Charleston community had floats or individuals walking.

On the square, alumni Jim and Kristin Wooten watched the parade.

“We are back for the whole weekend,” Kristin said.

Kristin graduated from Eastern in 2006 from the special education department and Jim graduated in 2004 from the industrial technology department. They now live in Tinley Park.

“The parade was fun, but there were definitely some good floats and some interesting floats,” Kristen said.

The floats went along with the theme of Homecoming, “Eastern Bets on Blue.”

The themed floats ranged from Slot Machines, to a winning hand in poker with an extra ace of “paws,” a gambling boat, and a float with fewer decorations that simply stated they had lost their money in Las Vegas.

Chuck Rice, a senior computer sciences major, and Erin Potter, a senior art education major, joined Jim and Kristin for the parade.

“I really liked the bands, the multiple bands,” Potter said.

Local marching bands joined the Panther Marching Band in the Homecoming festivities. The Selmaville Middle School marching band, the Flora High School Marching Band and the Charleston High School Marching Band each marched Saturday morning.

As the Charleston High School marching band continued down Seventh Street they received a “Trojans” chant from the students at a house behind an orange fence.

Individuals campaigning for next week’s elections were scattered throughout the parade lineup as were local businesses. Haunted houses were also in the parade in light of the Halloween season.

Just as quickly as the crowds swept over the parade, the streets were deserted. The chattering crowds went to bars, restaurants and front porches to have lunch before the football game began.

The wagons rattled down the road as balloons bobbed behind them.

The streets were left empty with only pieces of candy left from the parade.

Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7943 or

[email protected].