Hope College will host its 83rd annual Nykerk Cup competition on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse.
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 2021 and the sophomore Class of 2020, who are being coached by the junior Class of 2019 and the senior Class of 2018 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. 27, at the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center.
The freshman play coaches are Molly Farney of Wheaton, Illinois, and Alicia Leitzen of Naperville, Illinois. The morale coaches are Danny Carpenter of Kalamazoo, Matthew Grit of Grand Rapids and Matthew Schuiling of Zeeland.
The sophomore play coaches are Melanie Burkhardt of Geneva, Illinois, and Caitie Kieser of Bellevue, Nebraska. The morale coaches are Connor Gentry of Bloomington, Illinois, Danny Harman of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and Nick Rozema of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The freshman song coaches are Hayley Landstra of Grandville and Hannah Weeldreyer of Jenison. The morale coaches are Austin Hauer of Sterling Heights, Scott Murphy of La Grange, Illinois, and Mason Schut of Grand Rapids.
The sophomore song coaches are Erin Caton of Rochester Hills and Maty Landman of Grand Rapids. The morale coaches are Joe Bustamante of Williamston, Dan Carrick of St. Joseph and Adam Rolain of Rochester.
The freshman oration coaches are Jubilee Jackson of Northville and Selena Quintanilla of Holland.
The sophomore oration coaches are Cassidy Bernhardt of Lowell, Indiana, and Gianna Ramirez of Chicago, Illinois.
The members of the Nykerk executive board this year are: Macauley Wieland of Middlebury, Indiana, general chair; Rachel Gillespie of East Lansing, chair-elect; Amy Podgorica of Grand Rapids, senior secretary; Caitlin Skiba of St. Clair Shores, junior secretary; Sara Erxleben of Harbor Springs, senior treasurer; Erin LaBarge of Hudsonville, junior treasurer; Nola Tolsma of Holland, senior production; Sara Plohetski of South Lyon, junior production; Erin Murphy of Grand Rapids, senior publicity; and Madeline King of Grand Rapids, junior publicity.
Family Weekend will feature a variety of other events in addition to the Nykerk Cup competition.
The Biology Seminar Series will host the address “Cage-free egg production: The future was yesterday” by Dr. Darrin Karcher, assistant professor of animal sciences at Purdue University, on Friday, Oct. 27, at 3 pm. in room 1019 of the A. Paul Schaap Science Center.
The college’s H2 Dance Company will perform on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 27-28, and Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland. Tickets are $10 for regular admission, $7 for senior citizens, $5 for Hope College students and children age 13 to 18, and free for children 12 and under, and are available at the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office. They will also be available at the door.
Women’s Soccer will host Wheaton College on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for those 18 and under.
The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is hosting the exhibition “Distant Tracings // Tracing Distance,” featuring work by Claudia Esslinger with Tom Giblin through Friday, Nov. 10. 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.
The Kruizenga Art Museum is showing the exhibition “From Beyond the Stars: Innovation and Inspiration in Meiji Japanese Art” through Saturday, Dec. 16. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
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. Any remaining tickets for each event will be sold at the door.
The three-day Family Weekend, running Friday-Sunday, Oct. 27-29, will also feature activities geared toward parents of current students specifically, including a variety of open classes and tours. More information is available online.