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CEDAR FALLS | Thunder from marching bands drowned out a brief cloudburst Saturday as the University of Northern Iowa’s Homecoming parade returned after a seven-year absence.

Bands drummed down College and 23rd streets alongside student groups in festooned golf carts as the parade passed throngs of onlookers, some holding umbrellas.

Stephanie Witte and her husband, Curtis, took refuge under a tree while their daughters, Sophia, 9, and Cecelia, 4, collected candy.

“It’s awesome. Look at how much fun they’re having,” said Stephanie Witte, a UNI graduate who is now a horticulturist at the campus botanical center. “We’ve been coming since she (Sophia) was a baby, and then they canceled it. So we’ve been excited about coming back.”

In 2008, the university shelved the parade, apparently because of construction on College Street, and it wasn’t revived until this year at the request of students and alumni.

Curtis Witte said he liked the decorated golf carts, which replaced the traditional flatbed floats.

“It feels a lot safer for kids being right on the curb,” he said.

“It’s closer, you can see people, and it’s quieter. No fumes. I like it,” Stephanie Witte added.