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Pelham students wave and throw candy as the third annual Panther Prowl Parade makes its way down Bearden Road on Oct. 5. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

Pelham's Panther Prowl Parade is set for Thursday, Oct. 11, at 5:30 p.m. (File)

PELHAM – Pelham residents lined Bearden Road from the entrance of Pelham High School to the entrance of Pelham City Park to celebrate the third annual Panther Prowl Parade on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 5. According to Pelham City Schools Communications Manager Nicole Knight, this year’s parade’s theme was “Welcome to the Jungle,” and it involved a total of 28 groups from all four Pelham schools, the city’s youth sports leagues and other organizations.

“This is our biggest parade yet,” Knight said. “It includes kids from Pelham Parks and Rec’s youth teams, Pelham Park Middle School and Pelham High School. We wanted to make this a community-wide event.”

Knight said the purpose of the parade was to promote school spirit before Pelham High School’s homecoming game on Friday, Oct. 6.

“We hope this brought a big crowd to the game,” Knight said.

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Knight said the PHS marching band visited PPMS and PHS cheerleaders visited Pelham Oaks and Pelham Ridge Elementary Schools to greet students as they walked into the building.

“We’re making this an event that everybody can get excited about,” Knight said.

Knight said she has seen the parade grow exponentially since it was started by the PHS Student Government Association in 2014. Every year, she said, the parade gives students an extra layer of fun to an already exciting week of school spirit.

“The students really enjoy doing something that’s spirited off the field, just to enjoy homecoming week,” Knight said. “This is something they have been looking forward to year after year, ever since they started it.”

More photos from the Panther Prowl Parade can be found on Shelbycountyphotos.com.

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