Hope College will host its 82nd annual Nykerk Cup competition on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. at the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse.

See full Family Weekend schedule of events 

The event, one of a variety of activities scheduled during the college’s Family Weekend, will feature more than 200 members of the freshman and sophomore classes competing in song, plays and oration. The participating classes this year are the freshman Class of 2020 and the sophomore Class of 2019, who are being coached by the junior Class of 2018 and the senior Class of 2017 respectively.

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.

Tickets for the Nykerk Cup competition are $7, and are available while supplies last through Friday, Oct. 28, at the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center.

The freshman play coaches are Caitie Kieser of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Melanie Burkhardt of Geneva, Illinois. The morale coaches are Nick Rozema of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Connor Gentry of Bloomington, Illinois, and Danny Harman of Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

The sophomore play coaches are Nancy Benda of Birmingham and Sarah Carpenter of Kalamazoo. The morale coaches are Jake Helder of East Lansing, Ben Patchin of Holland and Noah Loula of Bolingbrook, Illinois.

The freshman song coaches are Maty Landman of Grand Rapids and Erin Caton of Rochester Hills. The morale coaches are Joseph Bustamante of Haslett, Garrett Sims of Harrisburg, Oregon, and Dan Carrick of St. Joseph.

The sophomore song coaches are Bethany Redeker of Harland and Elizabeth Tally of Overland Park, Kansas. The morale coaches are Nick Loubert of Grand Rapids, Robert Henry of La Salle, Illinois, and Brenden Merriman of Grand Haven.

The freshman oration coaches are Cassidy Bernhardt from Lowell, Indiana, and Gianna Ramirez of Chicago, Illinois.

The sophomore oration coaches are Madeline Chapman from Grand Rapids and Gabby Gazall from Naperville, Illinois.

The members of the Nykerk executive board this year are: Kelsey Payne of Dublin, Ohio, general chair; Macauley Wieland of Middlebury, Indiana, chair-elect; Holly Wierenga of Jenison, senior secretary; Amy Podgorica of Grand Rapids, junior secretary; Ashley Krause of Shelby Township, senior publicity; Erin Murphy of Grand Rapids, junior publicity; Jessica Cronau of Dublin, Ohio, senior production; Sydney McLean of Grand Haven, junior production; Mikaila Bisson of Sterling Heights, senior treasurer; Sara Erxleben of Harbor Springs, junior treasurer.

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

The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is hosting the exhibition “Infinite Replica,” showing photography by 2012 Hope graduate Chris Cox, who has been the inaugural Borgeson Artist-in-Residence at the college.  The gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The exhibition will continue through Friday, Nov. 18.  Admission is free.

The Kruizenga Art Museum is hosting the exhibition “After the Rupture: New Directions in Mexican Art 1960s-1980s,” which showcases work by Mexican artists who broke away from the Muralist School and explored a wider range of styles and subjects between the 1960s and the 1980s.  The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The exhibition will continue through Saturday, Dec. 17. Admission is free.

The Biology Seminar Series will present the address “Virus-Host Interactions in Encephalitic Virus Infection” by Dr. Kathy Spindler of the University of Michigan on Friday, Oct. 28, at 3 p.m. in room 1019 of the A. Paul Schaap Science Center.  Admission is free.

The Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminary Series will present the address “Seeing is Believing: Coordination Chemistry and Molecular Imaging” by Dr. Thomas J. Meade of Northwestern University on Friday, Oct. 28, at 4 p.m. in room 1000 of the A. Paul Schaap Science Center.

The club rugby team will host Calvin College on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.  Admission is free.

The club hockey team will host South Florida on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Edge Ice Arena.  Tickets are $5 and are available at the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office.

Classical guitarist Lily Afshar will perform on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the John and Dede Howard Recital Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts. Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens and Hope faculty and staff, and $5 for students 18 and under, and are available at the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office.

The college’s annual Donia Organ Recital, this year celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Vienna Summer School, will feature Dr. Wolfgang Reisinger on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.  Reisinger has taught in the program since 2006.  Admission is free.

The college’s H2 Dance Company will perform on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 28-29, and Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.  The program will include the U.S. premiere of “Dieser Ort,” the work that the company performed to critical claim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland this summer. Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens, and $5 for Hope College students and children 18 and under, and are available at the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office.  They will also be available at the door.

The Kruizenga Art Museum and the college’s Latino Student Organization will present a Dia de los Muertos Community Day celebration in conjunction with the exhibition “After the Rupture: New Directions in Mexican Art 1960s-1980s” on Saturday, Oct. 29.  The collaborative event will feature family-friendly, Day of the Dead-related crafts from 10 a.m. to noon, the building of an authentic ofrenda by the Latino Student Organization with subsequent tours at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and a Spanish-language tour of the bilingual exhibition led by student docents at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The football team will host Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. at the Ray and Sue Smith Stadium. Tickets are $5 for adult general admission and $3 for general admission for those under 18.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving will host Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. at the Dow Center’s Kresge Natatorium.  Admission is free.

A recital featuring student winners of Distinguished Artist Awards at Hope will take place on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 4 p.m. in the John and Dede Howard Recital Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts.  Admission is free.

The men soccer team will face Olivet College on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for those under 18.

For all events requiring tickets, the ticket office in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890.  Tickets are also available online.   Any remaining tickets for each event will be sold at the door.

The three-day Family Weekend, running Friday-Sunday, Oct. 28-30, will also feature activities geared toward parents of current students specifically, including a variety of open classes and tours.  More information is available.

The Anderson-Werkman Financial Center is located at 100 E. Eighth St., between College and Columbia avenues.  The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is located at 270 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.  Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.  The Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets.  The Dow Center is located at 168 E. 13th St., on 13th Street at Columbia Avenue.  The Edge Ice Arena is located at 4444 Holland Ave.  The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St., between College and Columbia avenues.  The Kruizenga Art Museum is located at 271 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.  The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.  The A. Paul Schaap Science Center is located at 35 E. 12th St., at 12th Street and College Avenue.