Hope College will host its 71st annual Nykerk Cup competition on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. at the Holland Civic Center, located at 150 W. 8th St.

The event, one of a variety of activities scheduled during the college's Parents' Weekend, will feature approximately 200 members of the freshman and sophomore classes competing in song, plays and oration. The participating classes this year are the freshman Class of '09 and the sophomore Class of '08.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

The competition, first held on March 16, 1936, is named in honor of the originator of the program, John Nykerk, a professor, college dean and founder of the Hope College department of music. The event is continuously staged before a large audience.

The planners are making arrangements to have the competition carried live on local cable channel 15.

The sophomore song will be "Over the Rainbow," with music by Harold Arlen arranged by Teena Chinn. The sophomore song will be coached by seniors Rachel VandeGiessen of Flemington, N.J., and Suzzy Lockwood of Kentwood.

The sophomore song morale coaches are seniors Nick Erdman of St. Joseph and Bill Flavin of Palos Heights, Ill.

The freshman song will be "Build Me Up, Buttercup," with words and music by Tony McCauley and Michael D'Abo and arranged by Mac Huff. The freshmen song will be coached by juniors Ana Frikker of Troy and Kristen Greshel of Trenton.

The freshman song morale coaches are juniors Matthew Boote of Deerfield, Ill., Billy Statema of Zeeland and Daniel Wizner of Hemlock.

The sophomore play will be "The Phantom of the Nykerk," written and coached by seniors Rachel Achtemeier of Dubuque, Iowa, and Jennica Avery of Rochester, N.Y.

The sophomore play morale coaches are seniors David Weatherly of Shelby Township, Michael Dominiak of Dearborn and Andrew Moore of Budapest, Hungary.

The freshman play is "Do You Yabba Dabba Do?," written and coached by juniors Lauren Grumm of Grand Rapids and Jennifer Stults of Grandville. The freshman play morale coaches are juniors Adam Carpenter of Auburn Hills, Matt Dannenberg of Zeeland and Josh Payne of New Baltimore.

This year's oration theme is "Gifts of Change." The sophomore orator will be Anna West of Birmingham, whose speech is titled "(Welcome to) Our Global Neighborhood." She is coached by senior Anne Bast of Grand Rapids. The freshman orator will be Barbra Rubio of Holland, whose speech is titled "The Voice of Liberation." She is coached by juniors Lara Wagner of Northville and Deborah O'Connell of Wyckoff, N.J.

The general chair of Nykerk is senior Amy McEwan of Canajoharie, N.Y., and general chair-elect is junior Laura Johnson of Grand Rapids. The senior treasurer is Jessica Higgins of Baraboo, Wis., and the junior treasurer is Anna Marshall of Levering. The senior publicity chair is Christina Judson of Hoffman Estates, Ill., and the junior publicity chair is Katy Eagen of Lake Bluff, Ill. The secretary is Shannon Harburn of Okemos. Senior Amanda Berlinski of Worth, Ill., and junior Becky Kolak Des Plaines, Ill., are the production coordinators.

The weekend will feature a variety of other performances and presentations in addition to the Nykerk Cup competition.

The gallery of the De Pree Art Center is featuring a series of paintings of the Hope campus by Bruce McCombs, professor of art, through Wednesday, Nov. 23. The De Pree Art Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. The gallery is open Sundays and Mondays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free.

The Biology Seminar Series at Hope will feature the address "Medicinal Chemistry and New Directions in Anti-Obesity Research" by Dr. Michael J. Bishop, who is research director with GlaxoSmithKline, on Friday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. in room 1019 of the college's science center, located on 12th Street at College Avenue. Admission is free.

As a Sigma Xi Seminar, Dr. Garon Smith, who is in analytical/environmental chemistry at the University of Montana, will present "Honeybees as Flying Chemical Detectors: New Ways to Find Pollutants and Hidden Explosives" on Friday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m. in room 1000 of the college's science center. Admission is free.

The college's Wind Symphony and Percussion Ensemble will perform on Friday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel, located on College Avenue at 12th Street. Admission is free.

Women's soccer will host Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Nov. 5, at noon, and men's soccer will host Alma College on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. Both games will take place at Buys Athletic Fields on Fairbanks Avenue near 11th Street. Admission is free.

Carol Beth Steiner of Rochester will perform the flute during her junior recital on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music, located along the former 12th Street between College and Columbia avenues. Admission is free.

The Faculty Recital Series will present a concert on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music. Admission is free.

The three-day Parents' Weekend, running Friday-Sunday, Nov. 4-6, will also feature activities geared toward parents of current students specifically, including a variety of open classes and discussion sessions focused on various aspects of college life.