BY BETH VELLIQUETTE

bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 918-1042

CHAPEL HILL — The UNC Homecoming Parade, which apparently wandered off course 16 years ago, will be returning Saturday to downtown Chapel Hill.

It’s been a while since the streets have been filled with marching bands, floats, flashy cars and bouncing cheerleaders, but UNC Student Body President Jasmine Jones decided she wanted the parade to come back to Chapel Hill and set about reviving the tradition.

“I love it,” said Genny Wrenn, whose father owns the Shrunken Head Boutique, the famous Franklin Street shop that sells all things Carolina.

Wrenn remembers when the homecoming and “Beat Dook” parades were annual events, and she’s excited to see the parade return.

“I’m so very excited about it,” she said.

The Marching Tar Heels, the Homecoming royalty, Carolina cheerleaders and Rameses, the UNC mascot, will be in the parade, as well as university and town leaders.

John Snipes is expected to be piloting the Heelraiser, a 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood hearse that he fixed up as a tribute to Carolina. It blasts songs from its sound system and carries a coffin in the back.

Downtown merchants are look forward to the return of the parade and the extra people it will attract to the downtown area, said Jim Norton, executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.

“It’s certainly not going to hurt,” he said. “We think it will bring more people downtown, and that will be good for our businesses.”

Jones contacted the partnership about her plan to revive the parade, and it supported her effort, Norton said.

“Anytime you have an opportunity to bring more people downtown there’s the possibility of more sales,” he said.

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. and will take a route from Swain Hall on South Columbia heading north to Franklin Street. It will turn right on East Franklin Street and continue past Morehead Planetarium, then take another right to Cameron Avenue on the UNC campus.

It is expected to last about 45 minutes, and police will close the streets during the parade and open them immediately after the parade has passed.

After the parade, fans can gather at Tar Heel Town in Polk Place and around Bell Tower beginning about 12:30 p.m. The band and cheerleaders will escort the football players to Kenan Stadium from the Old Well about 1 p.m.

The football game, which pits UNC against Duke at Kenan Stadium, is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.