A tradition started five years ago will continue Friday night when Panther Park is expected to be filled with families preparing for the big game — tailgate-style.

Families and individuals are invited to join in the fun at the park, located at the entrance to Brookhaven High School on East Monticello Street. The tailgating is from 5 to 7 p.m. It’s a bring-your-own-eats affair, but food and drinks will be available for purchase as well.

No one person claims ownership of the tradition, it just sort of happened, said Carrie Sones, one of the regular tailgaters who helps keep the festivities somewhat organized.

She and a few other parents get other groups involved to sell food at the events and come up with themes for the home game tailgating.

Sones and her husband are Brookhaven High graduates. Though their kids aren’t ready for high school yet — their oldest is a sixth-grader — they do enjoy the tailgating.

“My kids love it,” she said. “They bring their football and play in the park while the parents are eating.”

The BHS cheerleaders are on hand to get the pre-game crowd pumped up and the Panthers make an appearance as they walk through the park at 5:40 p.m. on their way to the field house.

“The kids love seeing the football players,” she said. “They walk through and everybody cheers for them.”

Each home game gets a color the fans are asked to wear.

This Friday is gold to honor Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The BHS Band Boosters will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks at the tailgating party. “You don’t even have to bring anything to picnic this week,” she said.

A blanket or chairs might come in handy while at the tailgate. Seating at Panther Park is limited.

Some families even bring tents, setting them up earlier in the day.

“It’s a good way to get to know everybody in your school system,” Sones said. “They can get groups together or come up and join a group that’s already there.”

The Sept. 30 theme is the White Out game. Because the Panthers are playing the Wayne County War Eagles, Sones said poultry is on the menu. “Since they’re a bird, we’re asking people to bring fried chicken (to the tailgate).”

On Oct. 14, Brookhaven’s homecoming, Sones hopes a sea of red and blue will fill the park and then later the stands.

The BHS Band Boosters will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks at the park prior to that game.

Oct. 28 is the pink game where everyone is asked to wear pink to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she said.

Pulled pork sandwiches prepared by Sam Sones of Farm Bureau will be available for purchase. King’s Daughters Medical Center is donating pink cupcakes as a treat for the tailgating fans.