As part of the Homecoming festivities, groups constructed lawn displays in coordination with this year’s theme, “Tradition with a Vision.”

“This year there is a total of 11 pairs competing for the first-place trophy,” said Mike Gaul, a member of the Homecoming Committee who is coordinating the lawn displays.

Groups are made up of two fraternities and one sorority (excepting a small fraternity or sorority needing to get involved).

Gaul, senior in agricultural studies and a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, 201 Gray Ave., said each group pays an entry fee and has a budget of $2,500 to spend on their lawn displays.

“All lawn displays must be done by noon on Friday,” Gaul said. “At 2:30 p.m., four judges will evaluate the displays.”

Construction on the lawn displays began Labor Day weekend and will continue through the deadline at noon on Oct. 9.

“The committee will judge each display on detail and what they think of it,” said Mitch Ries, senior in agricultural studies and Alpha Gamma Rho Homecoming chairman.

“Trophies are handed out for first through third place, and those points combine with points from other [Homecoming] activities to select the overall winner,” he said.

Alpha Gamma Rho has won the lawn display competition the past two years.

“Our house is pretty special because we don’t have to ask for help,” Ries said. “Everyone knows that it needs to be done so they put in their time and help out.”

This year the fraternity, along with its partners Delta Delta Delta, 302 Ash Ave., and Beta Sigma Psi, 223 Lynn Ave., is creating a train and depot.

Ries said they chose to build a train and depot because the ISU campus started from the depot on the east side of town.

Each lawn display has to follow a set of rules outlined by Homecoming Central. All displays must be free-standing, one-of-a-kind and stay within a budget of $2,500, Ries said.

“Our [lawn display] theme is ‘Roots of the Past, Branching Towards the Future,'” said Paul Peterson, junior in mechanical engineering and Phi Kappa Theta Homecoming chairman. “We are trying to stay away from the usual football display and move towards something more non-conventional.”

He said Phi Kappa Theta, 2110 Lincoln Way, Delta Upsilon, 117 Ash Ave., Alpha Xi Delta, 315 Lynn Ave., and Phi Beta Chi, B6 Memorial Union, made a tree out of chicken wire, newspaper and plaster. A Cyclone treehouse will be placed on top of the trunk with extending branches.

“We plan on having a bunch of moving things in and around the tree,” Peterson said.

Jude Becker, senior in agricultural business and member of Sigma Chi, 2136 Lincoln Way, said Sigma Chi is building its lawn display with Delta Sigma Theta, B6 Memorial Union.

“We’re using lumber, blueboard insulation, rerod and a variety of other supplies,” Becker said.

Gaul said the rules also have a provision regarding the materials that can be used.

“[The groups] cannot use materials to depict their original form or function,” he said. Water cannot represent water, for example.

Members of Kappa Alpha Theta, 2239 Knapp St., Phi Gamma Delta, 325 Ash Ave., and Alpha Kappa Lambda, 2635 Knapp St., designed their lawn displays to show “Cyclone Spirit.”

“Our display shows how young kids want to grow up to be a Cyclone like someone in their family,” said Jill Grinstead, sophomore in pre-business and Kappa Alpha Theta Homecoming chairperson. “We are creating a football field with a little kid passing a football to an ISU football player. A cannon will also explode.”

Lawn displays are created with wood, steel, paper mach‚ and styrofoam.

“You name it, it’s out there,” Spencer Ehlers, senior in animal ecology and Sigma Phi Homecoming chairman, said about Sigma Phi’s lawn display materials.

“[The displays] are bigger and better every year,” Ehlers said. “Everyone competes for trophies and bragging rights.”

Sigma Phi, 2112 Lincoln Way, Sigma Kappa, 233 Gray Ave., and Adelante, 318 Welch Ave., are creating a display featuring the stadium, Lake Laverne and the Campanile.

“We are going to have Cy walk around the displays,” Ehlers said. “We titled our display ‘Walk Through Tradition.'”

A community tour will be held Saturday morning before the game to show off the lawn displays, Ries said. He said a “People’s Choice Award” will be chosen this year for the first time.

“Starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, the public can meet at the north side of Stephen’s Auditorium by the ticketbooth to join the community tour,” Gaul said.

He said there will be an opportunity for a ride.

Gaul said each group gives a short presentation when the tour stops at their display.

“Some of them will even include moving parts,” Gaul said.

Gaul said the tours should be done between 10 and 11 a.m.

“This leaves time for everyone to go tailgating before the game,” he said.

Gaul said the winners will be announced at the Yell Like Hell finals and during the football game.

“In the past, the public wasn’t able to see the presentations because they were still at work on Friday afternoon,” Gaul said. “This is a good way for alumni and the Ames community to come out and see the action.”

Becker said the last couple of weeks of building have been intense.

“[The lawn displays] express in physical and mechanical ways the spirit of Homecoming,” he said.