Years ago, sometimes the homecoming celebration of North Carolina A&T State University would be scheduled on the same weekend as Halloween and, whenever that happened, it was almost impossible to even walk down Elm Street – and it could literally take an hour or more to get your car out of a parking deck.
Thankfully, things have changed, and, in 2025, the huge annual party will not coincide with Halloween – but it will still bring a tremendous number of people to the university area and to downtown; and, because of that, City of Greensboro officials are changing up a lot of things to help smooth out the logistics.
The “Greatest Homecoming on Earth,” aka “GHOE,” kicks off this week and it will bring more than 100,000 Aggies and friends into the city and the county.
The celebration is widely recognized as one of the biggest homecomings in the country – with an economic impact that extends well beyond the campus and downtown. Hotels sell out weeks in advance, restaurants see long lines out the door and local businesses report some of their busiest days of the year.
The tradition, which is nearly a century old, has grown into a multi-day festival of parades, concerts, reunions, step shows and tailgates.
A&T calls it a “showcase of Aggie Pride,” and visitors from across the nation often treat it like a family reunion. But for those who are just driving through or near the events, it can be a hassle: non-Aggies just trying to get from Point A to Point B can be met with closed roads, packed decks and clogged intersections.
So here are some things to keep in mind if you will be driving around Greensboro.
The big parade happens Saturday, Oct. 11, at 8 a.m., with street closures starting before sunrise. Murrow Boulevard, East Lindsay Street and Dudley Street will all be blocked off during the day, and Yanceyville Street will stay shut down until Monday, Oct. 13, to make room for the Aggie FanFest.
FanFest itself runs Friday through Sunday near War Memorial Stadium and will feature music, food and vendors. Meanwhile, downtown will be home to “Aggies on Elm” – a block party and tailgate on Elm Street that takes over from Friday afternoon through early Sunday morning.
City officials recommend parade-goers use the Church Street deck at 215 N. Church St.
Visitors headed to the Aggies on Elm event should look for spaces at the Greene Street and Davie Street decks.
To help with the crush, a free shuttle will run Saturday between the Koury Convention Center on Gate City Boulevard and Truist Stadium, operating from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
City leaders say the payoff is worth the congestion. In past years, studies have estimated that A&T homecoming pumps tens of millions of dollars into Greensboro’s economy.
I’m leaving Greensboro my whole life, I know people are not going to understand this, but I hate it when homecoming comes in because people get robbed, Greensboro has to work overtime and I don’t see how in the world it brings any money into the community. It only benefits the people that go to the game itself. The afterparties are hell for Greensboro.
Hotels, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, etc… all benefit from the big parties that go on in support of such a big event. But all you think of is a few extra arrests that get made over the weekend. Hmmmmm wonder why?
That’s the way it was in downtown Greensboro on Saturdays. Many years ago.
Last year we went downtown for breakfast on the Sunday morning after homecoming and the area was trashed. Even though trashcans were provided everywhere, apparently it was more convenient to just throw their crap all over the sidewalks and parking areas. The city “leaders” touted it as a great success. I wondered how much the cleanup cost taxpayers. I think it’s reasonable to charge the cleanup to A&T if their students and alumni think nothing of trashing the city that hosts their university.
sociopaths are everywhere 10% of total population 1% are psychopaths ? they want to hurt you many are charismatic ‘influencers’
Geese, get over yourselves. Yes, it’s a party, yes it’ll make a mess, but it’ll bring tremendous economic benefits and a good time to a lot of residents. The mess will be cleaned up. Contrast this with cities that don’t host major events. What are they like? Not very interesting, nobody visits, stores and restaurants close, and they look like a scene from the Omega Man.
Here’s a compromise, let’s just move all of the parties to the Walmart parking lot on 16th St. it stays trashed all of the time anyway so no one would know the difference
yeeaaa good idea
i go for the food & beautiful women & the band