by Joy Esiemokhai
When the prodigal son of the eponymous biblical story returned home, his father threw a big celebration for the whole town in what was perhaps the original homecoming celebration. The University of West Georgia recently observed the tradition of festivities honoring its returning sons and daughters and like the proud father in that story, the whole town was included in the celebration.
The Groove Gypsies performed as the opening act for the Lost Trailers.
Since 2010, UWG’s Student Activities Council and Alumni Association have collaborated with Carrollton Main Street to organize a community-inclusive event known as “Wolves Capture the Square.” This year’s event, which, like years past, took place the evening before the homecoming game, was a celebration of spirit and sport.
Members of the UWG and Carrollton communities took over Adamson Square and downtown Carrollton for a pep rally which saw the UWG marching band, cheerleaders and senior football players, as well as UWG president Kyle Marrero and his family show their pride and rev up excitement for the next day’s homecoming game.
The evening continued with a concert at the Carrollton Amp which was packed with a thrilled audience of both UWG and Carrollton folk. The Groove Gypsies, a cover band from Carrollton, were the opening act and performed a slew of classic rock, country and blues songs that had attendees dancing and singing along.
The event’s headlining act, Academy of Country Music Award-nominated band, the Lost Trailers, took to the stage and got the crowd even more excited with their energetic covers of country hits and renditions of their own songs. Their enthusiastic, crowd-engaging set ensured that there was no dull moment during the concert. The band, which is currently on tour, also shot clips of the audience which they plan to include in their upcoming music video. The electrifying performance had the crowd eagerly requesting an encore when the show seemingly drew to a close; a request that was just as eagerly granted.
The Wolves did not just capture the square but the gridiron too. The excitement of the event seemed to carry over to the next day as the community filled the stands to cheer the UWG Wolves who trashed their opponent, the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls, 49-0 at the homecoming game; a dream-come-true culmination to a week of dreams.
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