Schools and businesses will 鈥淧aint the Town Red鈥 for the colorful Homecoming contest to determine the best displays of Ragin鈥 Cajun spirit and pride.
Red and white decorations will be splashed across campuses and storefronts, and inside offices and school buildings, during the Paint the Town Red contest.
A team of local celebrity judges will visit schools and businesses that have entered the competition, searching for the best displays of Ragin鈥 Cajun鈥 spirit and pride.
Judges also will seek out the best, most creative ways students, teachers, employees and bosses celebrate the 鈥淗omecoming 2014鈥 theme. That includes wearing red clothing and costumes and performing skits.
This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥淩agin鈥 Cajuns Ever After,鈥 which refers to the University鈥檚 recent athletics success.
The Ragin鈥 Cajuns won their third consecutive R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the men鈥檚 basketball team earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament and the men鈥檚 tennis team won the Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Ragin鈥 Cajuns softball team made the school鈥檚 sixth appearance at the Women鈥檚 College World Series in May, the same month the baseball team was named the nation鈥檚 unanimous No. 1 team. CBS.com ranked 星空无限传媒 Lafayette 34th in its Best in College Sports ranking in July.
The Paint the Town Red contest will be judged on two days. Businesses will be visited from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Schools will be visited from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30.
Amanda Gary, event chair for the schools portion of the Paint the Town Red contest, said judges will determine the best decorations and displays of Ragin鈥 Cajun spirit in categories such as best decorations, and most spirited.
鈥淪ome schools only decorate, while others perform skits or sing the University fight song and the students sing and clap. It鈥檚 really fun to see,鈥 Gary said.
Monique Villien, event chair for the business portion of the Paint the Town Red contest, said large and small businesses will compete against each other for best interior decorations and best exterior decorations. Skits, however, will be judged in two divisions. They are: large businesses of 40 or more employees and smaller businesses of less than 40 employees.
Plaques will be awarded for first, second and third place in each category.
Judges for Paint the Town Red are: Brett Baer, former placekicker for the Ragin鈥 Cajuns; Robert Harris, King Rob Productions; Ken Judice, BancorpSouth; Kip Judice, Lafayette Parish Sheriff鈥檚 Office; Bruce Mikells, 97.3 The Dawg; Hans Nelson, BIG 102.1; Jenn Nelson, BIG 102.1; Gail Savoie, 星空无限传媒 Lafayette; Kassie Stoute, Sodexo; and Tracy Wirtz, KATC TV3.
For more information, visit louisianaalumni.org/hcevents