<p>SISTER HAZEL AND SEN. BILL NELSON RODE IN CONVERTIBLES FOR THE EVENT.</p>
<p>By JOEY CHINDAMO
Alligator Writer</p>
<p>UF's Homecoming weekend is designed to bring alumni back to town, but that didn't stop the rest of the Gainesville community from coming out to the annual parade Friday.</p>
<p>This parade marked the annual event's 83rd year, and 143 groups march or rode in it on the first day of UF's Homecoming festivities.</p>
<p>Various student and local organizations participated in the parade. Some rode on custom-made floats, while others walked or danced their way down University Avenue.</p>
<p>Some groups made a party of the occasion. The UF Surf Club had dozens of people on its party-on-wheels float, complete with a surf-rock band and beach-bar look.</p>
<p>High school marching bands from around the area, ranging in size from hundreds of young musicians to just a few dozen, performed in the parade as well.</p>
<p>Members of the Gainesville-born band Sister Hazel were the parade's grand marshals, riding near the front of the parade in convertibles.</p>
<p>Student Government executives and Florida Sen. Bill Nelson also made appearances in the parade.</p>
<p>Jason Jowers, from Keystone Heights, came to the parade with his wife and 3-year-old daughter, Mackenzie.</p>
<p>"She's excited for the parade, but we're waiting for (the game)," Jowers said.</p>
<p>A high school bluegrass band called Sweetwater Special performed for people walking on University Avenue.</p>
<p>"We try to open people's minds to bluegrass," said Michael Lesousky, the band's mandolin player.</p>
<p>Prior to the parade's start, more than 1,000 people participated in the Gator Gallop, which began at the James G. Pressly Stadium and continued down West University Avenue.</p>
<p>The Gator Gallop is a 25-year-old tradition in which people pay to run in a two-mile race.</p>
<p>For some, this year's parade marked milestones in their lives. Kristin Millson, a UF graduate from Winter Park, said it was her 36th consecutive Homecoming.</p>
<p>"I came up (Thursday) night for the parade and to see my family and friends," Millson said. </p>