ExCYtement in the Streets held its first-ever gathering from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday night south of campus in Greek row.

Lawn displays and pomping, where Greek houses and pairings create displays made of tissue paper, were the two main spectacles at this year’s event.

Three pairings had lawn displays where they decorated their yard with homemade designs and performed a skit that tied into the homecoming theme, ‘Cy Me To The Moon.’ The multiple Pomp structures were created using chicken wire and tissue paper and were also related to many different Iowa State traditions.

Tradition and preserving tradition were the central themes of all of the pomping and lawn displays, as well as the talent show, CyFactor. Iowa State traditions like the zodiac in the Memorial Union, the Lake LaVerne swans, campaniling, and even the albino squirrel, which is actually leucistic, were all spoken about during the performances on the house lawns.

These performances were showcased three times throughout the night with the CyFactor talent show performing from 5 to 5:45 p.m. The winner of the talent show will have the opportunity to perform at the homecoming pep rally and will also receive $100 cash.

Judges for the pomp structures and lawn displays went around throughout the evening taking notes on each one and critiquing it on multiple different factors including lighting, originality and clarity to the audience.

Emily Moffit, a member of Homecoming Central, the committee in charge of homecoming displays, explained that ExCYtement in the Streets will likely permanently replace the homecoming parade.

“The pomps structures are the replacement for the parade,” Moffit said. “We’re excited about it. It’s not that there was anything bad coming from the parade.”

The absence of the homecoming parade, in an event dedicated to tradition, is hypothesized by several students to be mainly due to monetary concerns.

Celeste Enyeart, a senior in mechanical engineering, explained that while doing work for the parade in past years, she would have to go door to door to get permission from businesses. This is mainly in part due to the necessary closure of the street for the parade.

Enyeart also added that there were lots of city hall meetings involved with the homecoming parade, with her friends chiming in that it cost Iowa State a lot of money, but that families in the area were some of the parade’s biggest supporters.

Despite the homecoming parade being replaced, Jacob Bockman, a leading member of Homecoming Central, said that he hopes this new tradition will endure.

“It’s something new, so this is the first year doing it,” Bockman said. “Hopefully it’ll be a long tradition. The lawn displays have been around for a while but those are usually on Friday night right after the pep rally.”

Bockman went on to explain that by adding pomping structures to the lawn displays, they created this brand new event free for all students and members of the surrounding community.

Three food trucks and a table full of free hot dogs and Rice Krispie Treats provided by the Student Alumni Leadership Committee, were available to event-goers throughout the evening.

Several clubs such as the Society of Chemistry Undergraduate Majors (S.C.U.M.), boxing club and S.A.E. Formula, were all invited to the event to promote themselves and engage with the community.

Part of the street was roped off to allow members from S.A.E. Formula, a club where members build their own race car each year, to drive and perform for viewers.

The first-ever ExCYtement in the Streets event had a large sorority and fraternity turnout, with more members of the community seen joining in the festivities later in the evening.