Continuing Tradition at the Fall Fest

It’s a crisp October morning on campus—in a garage behind the Support Services Center along Bluff Lane, Andy Hammond and Justin Amos are fitting an aluminum bar into place on a flatbed. The bar completes the railing around the structure, which doesn’t look like much at the moment. In the next day, however, the hard work Hammond, Amos and others have been doing on the flatbed since the summer will transform into the annual USI Fall Festival float.

Hammond, Theater Technical Coordinator, has been spearheading the effort of creating this year’s float but is quick to point out he isn’t alone in the work. Along with Amos, Lab Manager in the Engineering Department; Fred Wilson, Maintenance Supervisor; and a few USI Theatre students have helped over the last few months with the project. David Huebner, Art Workshop Supervisor, is lending his time and talents as well to help paint the float.

The group came together after the retirement of Jerry Bulger, who created and built USI’s float for 35 years during his tenure at the University. Last year’s float was his last and featured a mash-up of more than three decades of his work.

After last year’s festival, Kindra Strupp, Vice President of Marketing and Communication, pulled together USI employees from various departments to gauge interest and ideas for the Fall Festival float. Hammond says he was excited for the opportunity.

“I would have been interested in working on this project whether I had been asked or not,” he says. “I also think this would be a great opportunity for Theater students as well. The float is a lot of fabrication, a lot of artwork, a lot of design—all things that are perfect for Theater students to be a part of. We’re always building weird things anyway.”

Moving forward, Hammond hopes to keep Bulger’s creative spirit alive by continuing to bring together employees and students from across campus. “We’re going to try to get the word out a bit more, and hopefully in the future, have something that is designed and built by many individuals at USI,” he says.

Construction on this year’s float began in the summer when Hammond’s group decided to rebuild the float from the trailer up. A new floor was added, with access panels and railing that can be adjusted as needed depending on the theme of the float for the year.

“With the rail system, you just pop a rail off and swap out what you need. Whatever theme we’ve got that year, we can get new prints, and they can be dropped in,” explains Amos. “It makes it a lot more versatile.”

Drop-down steps have also been installed at the rear of the float; this gives those working on it easy access as well as anyone who may ride the float in the future.

“Taking the extra time on the front to make this (last for a decade) is worth it,” explains Hammond. “It’s going to look pretty good. It’ll be everything we want it to be, and I think that’s worth the effort we’re putting in it now.”

This year, the theme of the float is to honor the USI Women’s Basketball team and their historic 2023-24 season, which included the team’s first Ohio Valley Conference championship and a run in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Photos from the season will be displayed on panels around the float, and the centerpiece will be a basketball hoop with a ball spinning on the rim. Members of the team and coaching staff will be on the float riding down Franklin Street.

“I think the whole thing is going to look really cool. A lot of good ideas have come into this, and I think it’s going to be something we’re going to be proud of,” says Hammond.

Come out and celebrate the team and the new float at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, October 12 during the Fall Festival’s main parade!