The winner for the best decoration of the downtown 
businesses’ windows were announced at the Homecoming Game. Decorations were done by campus organizations.
Imari Simmons/The Lion's Roar

Sororities, fraternities and clubs competed in the Downtown Decorating event as part of Homecoming Week. Groups chose a company that was willing to volunteer a window of their business, and they spent one week decorating the window. 

Downtown Decorating took place from Oct. 12 through Oct. 14. On Monday, Oct. 17 a winner was chosen for the Downtown Decorating competition. 

All the windows that were painted were congruent with this year’s Homecoming theme, Roomie’s Road Trip. Each window that was painted was a stop in a different state on Roomie’s Road Trip.. 

The businesses that offered their windows in spirit of Homecoming Week ranged from technology shops to bars to clothing stores.

“We’re from Hammond,” said Susan Thornhill of Nova Technology. “We’re a small business here in the city and we wanna support the university as much as we can.” 

Their window was modeled after Louisville, Kentucky with Roomie in a car on his road trip.

Many of the businesses contributed their windows because they wanted to get into the spirit of Homecoming as well. 

Blackened Brew entered the window competition having painted its own window without the help of a sorority, fraternity or club. 

“We entered into the Hammond Chamber little window competition of all of Downtown Hammond, and I had a friend of mine paint it for us,” said owner Anthony Donze. 

Blackened Brew’s window was modeled after Philadelphia with a map of all the places Roomie was headed to on his road trip. This is also the Blackened Brew’s first year opening.

“Since February 5th, we just wanted to get into the spirit,” said Donze. “This is our first Homecoming here with the city, so why not. We don’t want to be the Grinch.”

Other window designs included Orlando, Florida with a Disney theme, Austin, Texas, where Roomie kidnaps McNeese’s mascot and San Francisco, where Roomie shows off the San Francisco Bridge.