A variety of activities have been scheduled for the annual Homecoming Weekend at Hope
College, running Friday-Sunday, Oct. 14-16.
Highlights include an exhibition featuring paintings of campus, the annual Run-Walk,
the presentation of two Young Alumni Awards during the Homecoming Celebration Brunch,
a tailgate picnic for alumni, and reunions for the classes of 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001
and 2006. The weekend is expected to bring hundreds of alumni back to campus.
Many of the Homecoming events are open to the public.
° Dr. Joaquin Ruiz, who is dean of the College of Science and a professor of geochemistry
at the University of Arizona, will present "The Evolution of Earth" on Friday, Oct.
14, at 3 p.m. in room 102 of VanderWerf Hall as the 2011 Gentile Interdisciplinary
Lecture. Admission is free.
° Hope will host the Midwest Volleyball Invitational on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 14-15,
at the DeVos Fieldhouse. Hope will play on Friday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and on Saturday
at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for regular admission, and $3 for students under
18, and will be sold at the fieldhouse.
° The gallery of the De Pree Art Center will present the exhibition "Hope College
Architecture: An Exhibition of Watercolors," featuring more than 30 paintings of campus
by Bruce McCombs, professor of art, beginning with an artist talk at 4:30 p.m. followed
by a reception from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Following the opening, the gallery will be 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.
° The 33rd annual Hope Run-Walk will feature a 5K run and a 3,200-meter prediction
walk on Friday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the DeVos Fieldhouse. Registration through
Saturday, Oct. 8, is $20 for either event, and after that date is $30 for either event.
Additional information is available online at www.hope.edu/alumni/RunWalk11.pdf and
at the department of kinesiology's office in the DeVos Fieldhouse, which can be called
at (616) 395-7070.
° Pianist Dr. Adam Clark, assistant professor of music at Hope, will present a faculty
recital on Friday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. Admission is
free.
° Hope College Theatre will present "Marion Bridge" by Daniel MacIvor on Friday-Saturday,
Oct. 14-15, and Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 19-22, at 8 p.m. in the DeWitt Center studio
theatre. Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens and $5 for
children 18 and under, and are available at the ticket office in the main lobby of
the DeVos Fieldhouse.
° The annual Homecoming Celebration Brunch will take place on Saturday, Oct. 15, at
9:30 a.m. The brunch will feature the presentation of Young Alumni Awards to 1996
graduate Todd Soderquist of Canton, who is a platform program manager, managing global
product delivery for mid-to-large cars and sport-utility vehicles, with Ford Motor
Company, and 1998 graduate Timothy Dykstra of Walla Walla, Wash., who is the environmental
compliance and stewardship program manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern
Division. The brunch will also include recognition of the reunion classes of 1986,
1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006.
° There will be a men's alumni lacrosse game on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 10 a.m. at the
Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Admission is free.
° The Hope-Geneva Bookstore in the DeWitt Center will be open on Saturday, Oct. 15,
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 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 1:30 p.m. through the end of the college's
game with AlbionCollege.
° The Alumni H-Club will host a reception on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 11:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m., in the second-floor classroom of the DeVos Fieldhouse. Scheduled between
the college's two Saturday volleyball games, the event will provide an opportunity
for alumni to meet Coach Becky Schmidt and the 2011 Flying Dutch volleyball team,
and will also include recognition for the MIAA championship teams of 1996 and 2001.
Admission is free.
° There will be a women's alumnae soccer game on Saturday, Oct. 15, at noon at the
Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Admission is free.
° There will be a tailgate picnic for alumni and their families on Saturday, Oct.
15, from noon to 2 p.m. at SmallenbergPark. Tickets for the eighth annual picnic may
be ordered in advance for $5 for adults and children age five and above, with admission
free for children under five, by sending a check to: Hope College; Alumni Relations;
PO Box 9000; Holland, MI 49422-9000 or by credit card by calling (616) 395-7250, or
by registering online at www.hope.edu/alumni/. Tickets will also be sold on-site.
° The college's chapter of Mortar Board will have a table set up, to collect gently
used children's books and donations, on Saturday during the tailgate and then at the
stadium through halftime of the football game.
° There will be a men's alumni soccer game on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m. at the
Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Admission is free.
° The Flying Dutchmen will host Albion College in football at Holland Municipal Stadium
on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7 for reserved seats, $5 for adult general
admission, $3 for general admission for those under 18, and free for children five
and under. They are being sold in advance at the ticket office in the front lobby
of the DeVos Fieldhouse, which faces Fairbanks Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets
and is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets will also be available at the
gate.
° Halftime during the football game will feature the introduction of the Homecoming
Court and the crowning of the Homecoming king and queen; and presentation of appreciation
awards by the college's Social Activities Committee and student life office to Tony
Van Houten, who is physical plant event manager at Hope, and the Hope United for Justice
student organization.
° Men's soccer will host Calvin College on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. at the Van
Andel Soccer Stadium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for those under 18, with admission
free for children five and under, and will be available at the gate.
° A Homecoming worship service will be held on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 10 a.m. in Dimnent
Memorial Chapel. The service will feature the college's Chapel Choir and Alumni Chapel
Choir under the direction of Dr. Brad Richmond of the Hope faculty. The service will
be led by the college's campus ministries team.
° Events for the reunion classes include the celebration brunch at the Haworth Inn
and Conference Center and evening parties on Saturday.
° Saturday, Oct. 15, will also include several affinity-group reunions. The college's
fraternities and sororities will hold open houses at 11 a.m. Beginning at 4 p.m.,
there will be gatherings for alumni of the Phelps Scholars Program, the nursing program
and the Baker Scholars Program.
The De Pree Art Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. The DeVos Fieldhouse
is located facing Fairbanks Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets. The DeWitt Center
is located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located on
College Avenue at 12th Street. The Haworth Inn and Conference Center is located on
College Avenue between Ninth and 10th streets. Holland Municipal Stadium and Smallenberg
Park are located on Fairbanks Avenue at 13th Street. Van Andel Soccer Stadium is located
on Fairbanks Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets. VanderWerf Hall is located along
10th Street between College and Columbia avenues.