Blue Sky Day is an annual 5-kilometer run, fundraiser and Homecoming tradition, but this year a new twist has been added.

The Homecoming Central Committee and Lutheran Services in Iowa were looking for a way to increase registration and overall campus involvement.

With the growing popularity of adding colored powder to races, the groups considered following the trend, said Krista Wylie, community service co-chairwoman for the Homecoming Central Committee.

“We bounced around a lot of ideas, but decided that adding color powder was the most practical, realistic and fun for this 5K,” Wylie said.

The Blue Sky Day Ames Live! In Color 5K run will take place Saturday, Nov. 2. The day of the race, registration will begin at 9 a.m. at the Memorial Union, with the race at 10 a.m.

The color powder stations will be set up throughout the course, and volunteers at different stations will toss color at runners and walkers, covering them in color from head to toe.

“Our hope is to definitely increase registration from 2012, which was around 1,100 participants,” said Melanie Anderson, general co-chairwoman for the Homecoming Central Committee. “We don’t have an exact estimate for this year, but with the incorporation of color we would hope to see more people.”

The cost of registration is $22 and includes T-shirt.

“To be guaranteed a shirt, you need to be registered by Oct. 11, but registration continues until the race date at the same price, you are just not guaranteed a shirt,” Anderson said.

According to Lutheran Services in Iowa, the color is completely environmentally friendly, but participants should be aware that it may stain.

“I think there are two main reasons people should do the race: one being that the Lutheran Services [in] Iowa gives back to the Ames community, and second is to just get people involved whether it be students from freshmen to seniors,” Anderson said.

Anderson said this run will overall benefit the community as a whole and the Lutheran Services in Iowa.

The Lutheran Services in Iowa is a nationally accredited organization and provides services to all ages, genders, nationalities, religions, ethnicities and sexual orientations.

The organization provides services like adoption and foster care services, counseling and therapy, crisis care and family support, improving behaviors and residential treatment, according to the Lutheran Services in Iowa website. 

Homecoming events start Oct. 27 and continue through Nov. 9. The Homecoming Central Committee within the Student Alumni Leadership Council plans events for Homecoming every year.

The theme for this year’s Homecoming is “The Tradition Continues.”

To register for the race, students can go to www.LSIowa.org/blueskyday.