Annual laser show lights up campus

A panther climbed down the Cathedral of Learning on Friday night — or at least the neon image of one.

The panther’s climb marked the end of the 24th annual Homecoming Fireworks and Laser Show on Friday night, which several thousand students and alumni attended and which was sponsored by Pitt Program Council. The 20-minute spectacle began at 9:20 p.m. with cheers from the crowd when “Thank You Nordenberg” was projected vertically in green capital letters on the Cathedral of Learning.

Gold fireworks were shot off from the various floors of the Cathedral. Blue, yellow and red fireworks, among other colors, were seen above Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard.

On the corner of Forbes and Bigelow, multicolored lasers projected into the audience. 

A variety of music accompanied the show. Recordings of Macklemore, NSYNC and The Beatles had the spirited crowd dancing.  

=Multicolored images were projected on the screen to match the songs. For example, when Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” was playing, a laser image of a pickup truck moved across the screen.

Taylor Steffey, director of special events for PPC, thought the show went well. She estimated that 8,500 to 10,000 people watched from around the Cathedral and surrounding areas.

“It’s something that no other school does — it makes our homecoming unique,” Steffey said in an email.

She said that PPC held the first annual show in 1989.

At the start of the show, the emcee noted that if audience members looked at the Cathedral, they would only see 30 percent of the show. To see the whole show, they had to look at the screen at the end of Bigelow and above at the fireworks on display above Hillman Library.

Jenn Ruminski, a freshman nursing major, said she got pumped up for the weekend at the laser show.

Cassie Allen, a freshman psychology major, said it reminded her of “how awesome Pitt is.”

Patty Hertz Glascom, an alumna from the class of 1970, referred to the show as “the most extensive firework display [she’s] ever seen.”

Larry Glanz, an alumnus from the class of 1970 and friend of Glascom, returned to campus to see the fireworks and laser display with friends from his graduating class.  

“It was great. I loved the Panther climbing down the Cathedral,” he said.