Even as the school year at Hope College draws to a close, the campus will stay active with hundreds of former students returning for Alumni Weekend activities running Friday-Sunday, May 4-6.
In addition to events geared toward reunion classes, the weekend will feature a variety of activities open to the general public and other alumni of the college. Highlights will include the presentation of two Distinguished Alumni Awards during the annual Alumni Banquet on Saturday, May 5.
The weekend will begin with a presentation on "Banking in West Michigan" on Friday, May 4, at 3 p.m. in the Freedom Village Retirement Community Auditorium by Dr. Steve VanderVeen, professor of management at Hope. VanderVeen will review the role of the banking industry in the history of Holland and Zeeland and the outlook for the future. The public is invited, and admission is free.
Driving and walking tours of campus are scheduled for Saturday, May 5, at 11:15 a.m. and 3 p.m. The tours will begin at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center and will each run for an hour. The public is invited, and admission is free.
A performance and presentation featuring the college's historic Skinner pipe organ will take place on Saturday, May 5, at 1:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. Originally installed in 1929, the organ recently underwent a two-year restoration project that was completed earlier during the school year.
Also on Saturday, May 5, at 1:30 p.m., there will be an open house at the college's President's Home. Running until 3:30 p.m., the event will feature an opportunity to meet this year's recipients of Distinguished Alumni Awards: Dr. Larry Siedentop, who is a 1957 graduate from Oxford, England, and Carl Ver Beek, who is a 1959 graduate from Grand Rapids. The public is invited, and admission is free.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented during the annual Alumni Banquet, which will take place on Saturday, May 5, at 6 p.m. at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center. Tickets are $25, and advance registration is requested although a limited number of tickets will also be sold at the door.
The weekend will also feature reunion activities for every fifth class from 1942 through 1982. In addition, the college will hold a special ceremony on Saturday, May 5, at 4 p.m. inducting members of the Class of 1957 into the "Fifty-Year Circle," which consists of all alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago. The Class of '57 will also be honored during the banquet Saturday evening.
The weekend's alumni activities will conclude with a brunch on Sunday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Phelps Dining Hall and Maas Center auditorium. Tickets are $8 for regular admission, $4 for children ages six-12 and free for children under five, and will be available at the door.
Alumni Weekend coincides with the college's graduation weekend. Baccalaureate and Commencement at Hope will be held on Sunday, May 6, with nearly 720 graduating seniors participating.
Baccalaureate will be held on Sunday, May 6, at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. The Baccalaureate sermon will be delivered by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia of Geneva, Switzerland, who is general secretary of the World Council of Churches. Admission is by ticket only, distributed in advance.
Commencement will be held on Sunday, May 6, at 3 p.m. at Holland Municipal Stadium. Dr. Dianne Portfleet, adjunct associate professor of English, will be the speaker. In the event of rain, Commencement will be held at the DeVos Fieldhouse. Tickets, distributed in advance, will be required only if the ceremony is held indoors.
The weekend also includes a dance concert and two exhibitions.
"dANCEpROjECt," formerly known as Aerial Dance Theater, will present "MEN DANCE MICHIGAN," a new forum for male choreographers who live, work, and create in the state of Michigan, on Thursday and Friday, May 3-4, at 8 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre. The concert will showcase works by emerging young choreographer Matthew Farmer, who is a 2004 Hope graduate, and established choreographers Steven Iannacone and Ray Tadio of the Hope faculty. Tickets for the concerts are $7 for regular admission, $5 for senior citizens and students, and free to children 12 and under, and may be purchased in advance at the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and may be called at (616) 395-7890. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
The college's annual senior art show, titled "ARTSEE," an exhibition of work by graduating seniors majoring in art and art history at Hope, is on display in the gallery of the De Pree Art Center through Sunday, May 6. 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. Admission is free.
An orchid show is being featured through Tuesday, May 15, in the greenhouse of the A. Paul Schaap Science Center. The show will be open from 8 a.m. to dusk daily. Admission is free.
The De Pree Art Center is on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street. The DeVos Fieldhouse faces Fairbanks Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets. Dimnent Memorial Chapel is on College Avenue at 12th Street. Freedom Village is at 145 Columbia Ave. The Haworth Inn and Conference Center faces College Avenue between Ninth and 10th streets. Holland Municipal Stadium is on Lincoln Avenue at 13th Street. The Knickerbocker Theatre is in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St. The Maas Center is on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street. Phelps Hall is on Columbia Avenue at 10th Street. The President's Home is on 10th Street east of College Avenue. The A. Paul Schaap Science Center is on College Avenue at 12th Street.
More information about Alumni Weekend may be obtained by calling the college's Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at (616) 395-7250.