Homecoming activities at Hope College will take place on Friday through Sunday, Oct. 11-13, and are expected to bring hundreds of alumni back to campus.
Highlights of the weekend include an exhibition of campus paintings by faculty member Bruce McCombs, the 25th annual Run-Bike-Swim-Walk, a Homecoming parade, a home football game with Kalamazoo College, and reunions on Friday and Saturday for the classes of 1987, 1992 and 1997.
Many of the Homecoming events are open to the public.
The exhibition of paintings of campus by Bruce McCombs of the college's art faculty will begin with an opening reception on Friday, Oct. 11, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will feature a lecture by the artist, "A View to a View." The gallery's regular hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The 25th annual Run-Bike-Swim-Walk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 12. Events will include a health fair in the Dow Center from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.; a two-mile prediction walk; a five-kilometer run; 3/4-, 2.5- and five- mile criterium bicycling events; and quarter-mile and half- mile swims. Starting times vary for the competitive events, and registration information may be obtained by calling the Dow Center at (616) 395-7690.
At 9 a.m. on Saturday, an "Alumnae Softball Game" at Buys Athletic Fields will feature competition between former players and members of the college's current team.
The Hope-Geneva Bookstore in the DeWitt Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The bookstore will also sponsor a tent staffed by members of the college's Alumni Board and featuring selected Hope merchandise, primarily clothing, at Holland Municipal Stadium on Saturday from 1 p.m. through the end of the college's game with Kalamazoo College.
There will be an "Alumni Men's Soccer Game" on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Buys Athletic Fields.
The Alumni H-Club's annual Homecoming luncheon will begin on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the Haworth Inn and Conference Center. Coach Karla Wolters will be recognized for her years of coaching, and 1947 graduate Robert "Gabby" Van Dis of Kalamazoo will receive the group's annual "Hope for Humanity" Award.
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, the Homecoming parade will leave campus at 13th Street and College Avenue and wind its way to Holland Municipal Stadium.
The Flying Dutchmen will host Kalamazoo at Holland Municipal Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m. The pre-game show, which begins at 1:30 p.m., will feature the Battle Creek Central High School Marching Band. Halftime will feature the band, the introduction of the Homecoming Court, and the crowning of the Homecoming king and queen.
A Homecoming worship service will begin on Sunday at 11 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. The service will feature the college's Alumni Chapel Choir and Chapel Choir under the direction of Dr. Brad W. Richmond, who is an associate professor of music and director of choral activities. Dr. Huw Lewis, professor of music, will be the organist. The preacher will be the Rev. Dr. Timothy Brown, who is the Hinga-Boersma Dean of the Chapel at Hope and the Henry Bast Professor of Preaching at Western Theological Seminary.
A variety of other activities will also run during the weekend.
The seminar "Jumpstart Your Future: Career Conversations with Hope Alumni" will run on Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center. The event is sponsored by the college's Office of Career Services and several academic departments.
The department of biology will feature the address "Linking animal behavior, movement and distribution in a Colorado mountain stream" by 1996 graduate Aaron Hoffman on Friday at 3 p.m. in room B50 of the Peale Science Center. Hoffman is a doctoral candidate at Colorado State University.
The department of chemistry will feature the address "From Chemistry to Curator: My Career Under the Microscope" by 1987 graduate Dr. Kyria Boundy-Mills on Friday at 4 p.m. in room B50 of the Peale Science Center. Boundy-Mills is assistant curator of the Herman J. Phaff Yeast Culture Collection at the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research (CIFAR), a program in the College of Agricultural Sciences at the University of California, Davis.
Classical guitarist Paul Vondiziano will perform on Friday at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre. Admission is $5, payable at the door.
Men's Soccer will host Calvin College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Buys Athletic Fields.
The college's Faculty Recital Series will present its first program of the season on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music. The recital will feature the "Anchor Trio," comprised of Hope music faculty members Mihai Craioveanu (violin), Mansoon Han (piano) and Richard Piippo (cello).
The weekend will also feature events geared toward the college's fraternities and sororities, other departmental and student-oriented activities, and several activities for the reunion classes of 1987, 1992 and 1997. Reunion highlights for the three classes will include get- togethers on Friday and brunches on Saturday.