Clark Atlanta University did things a little different this year by hosting their first ever festival. The festival took place on Oct. 24th at 12 p.m. and ended around 1 a.m. There were a wide array of festivities for students to take part in such as the Def Jam karaoke, gospel explosion, fashion show, step show and a star studded concert.
Panther Park was the first in-person homecoming event since the start of the pandemic. The last in-person homecoming was in October of 2019. Panther Park compiled all of the events of homecoming that typically would happen in a week into one day.
The event started with Def Jam Karaoke. This part of the event allowed students to sign up to cover songs from Def Jam Artists and compete for cash prizes. Students sang everything from Miley Cyrus to Lil Durk. Winners were Ezekiel Stephens and sophomores Jelani Luke, Rashad Mundy and Georgia Sanders.
The Gospel Explosion served as a competition as well as a concert. Students got to perform and compete for the chance to win a $10,000 prize. Participants Curtis Hamilton, Eternity Mitchell and Kierra Lee covered gospel songs and some sang original pieces. Then, Gospel Singer Kelonte Galvin came and sang amongst students while also leading Panther Park in ministry. The event left people on their feet and feeling free.
Following the gospel explosion was the fashion show. This event was a three part show produced by CAU student and celebrity stylist, Rylton Thomas. Additional leaders of the event were model coach, Tanaka Phillips Crumpton, and creative director, Jha’Mique Henderson. The show was nothing less than art. Choreography and performances were a part of the event as well. It was a serve that left audience members yelling in awe. “Serve,” “work,” “thank you,” were all the things that could be heard as models walked down the runway. This portion of the event featured student owned clothing lines, stylists, production assistants and models. The show was definitely one for the books, and still has people talking. Fashion week should be shaking in its boots. Definitely a highlight of the event.
The step show was also an awesome part of the event. Greek life got the opportunity to show off their skills, and rep their set. All the sororities and fraternities from the Deltas to the Alphas gave a show that truly embodied the essence of greek Life.
Last but definitely not least, was the concert — emceed by CAU Alum Fly Guy DC. The event was jam packed with performers. The concert featured headliner Gunna, alongside Lil Baby, T.I., 21 Savage, Dess Dior, YK Osiris, Quavo, G Herbo and the list goes on. This event had students standing up in their seats and shouting out song lyrics for hours. Social media and other HBCUs definitely had a run for their money after Clark’s Homecoming event. Some Twitter users jokingly said that CAU had “the whole industry” at the concert. This was unlike any concert the Atlanta University Center has ever seen.
This year’s homecoming was definitely an unconventional one and unlike previous years. However, Panther Park lived up to the hype and will forever be remembered for years to come.