By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
With the fall semester underway at Fort Hays State University, students will have a chance Tuesday, Aug. 25, to step away from campus and experience a little more of what Hays has to offer.
For the first time since 2021, March 2 Main will welcome students back to the community with an evening that begins on the FHSU campus and ends downtown with food, music, games and prizes.
Students from FHSU, Fort Hays Tech | North Central and Hays Academy of Hair Design are invited to gather near Picken Hall at 5:30 p.m., with the march beginning at 6 p.m.
Led by the FHSU marching band and cheerleaders, students will make their way downtown with a Hays Police Department escort. The path will have students travel along Seventh Street to Ash Avenue, then to 10th Street before continuing to Main Street and finishing at the Downtown Pavilion.
Nikki Brown, executive director of the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, said while the marching aspect is focused on students, community members are welcome to watch the march along the route and then head downtown for the festivities.
Brown also said the roads will not be closed down.
“The important part is that the roads won’t be closed,” Brown said. “So if people are going to watch, they need to make sure that they're on sidewalks and not standing in the middle of the streets. It's going to look more like a processional, so to speak, with the police escorting them down streets and kind of closing things as they walk through.”
Once at the Downtown Pavilion, students will enjoy pizza provided by Pizza Hut, root beer floats from Cold Stone and Gella's, live music, yard games, prizes and other activities.
Brown said food, swag bags and other giveaways will be available in limited quantities, with organizers primarily focusing those offerings on students.
Lee Ann June, executive director of The Bricks, said the evening is meant to help students see how close downtown is to campus and introduce them to what is available in the community.
“I want students to start at the university and follow the marching band,” June said. “They’re literally going to march their way downtown.”
The event is being organized through a partnership involving The Bricks, FHSU, the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Hays Police Department and numerous local businesses and organizations.