A traditional picnic featuring live music on the Hope College campus, home competition in men’s soccer and football, and the sights of Windmill Island Gardens will all be among the features of the 53rd annual Hope/Holland Community Day on Friday, Aug. 31.
Tickets will include the picnic on campus, admission to Windmill Island Gardens that day, and the soccer and football games, plus a bonus: admission to the island and the men’s soccer game on the next day as well.
The picnic will take place on Friday, Aug. 31, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the Buys Soccer Field adjacent to Van Andel Soccer Stadium on Fairbanks Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets. The fare will include pork carnitas, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken tamales, vegetarian enchiladas and black bean burgers, and the event will feature live music by the Holland American Legion Band.
Highlights at Windmill Island Gardens include the 257-year-old “DeZwaan” windmill; 36 acres of gardens, dikes and canals; the Posthouse museum and shops; and, for children, the antique carousel and playground. The day’s ticket stub will provide admission to the island from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Friday, Aug. 31, and Saturday, Sept. 1.
The college’s season-opening men’s soccer game with Manchester University of Manchester, Indiana, will be held at Van Andel Soccer Stadium on Friday, Aug. 31, at 5 p.m. It will be the Flying Dutchmen’s first game under the leadership of new coach Dave Brandt.
Hope College football will begin its season with a rare under-the-lights game on Friday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m., hosting Millikin University of Decatur, Illinois, at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.
Men’s soccer will host Stockton University of Galloway, New Jersey, on Saturday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.
Community Day celebrates the long-standing relationship between Holland residents and the faculty, students and staff of Hope College. The event debuted in October 1966 as a Community Ox Roast, held in conjunction with the Hope College centennial celebration. Like the first event, which was the idea of former mayor Nelson Bosman, subsequent Community Days have provided an opportunity for Holland and Hope to come together.
Tickets for Community Day cost $10 for regular admission and $6 for children age five to 11, with admission free for children under five. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Events and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center (100 E. Eighth St.), which is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at 616-395-7890. Tickets will also be sold at the picnic location at the Buys Soccer Field beginning at 4 p.m.
Throughout both days, the De Pree Art Center and Gallery will feature work by Caleb Kortokrax, the 2018 Borgeson Artist-in-Residence at the college. The exhibition will open on Wednesday, Aug. 22, and continue through Friday, Sept. 21. 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 to the gallery is free.
The Kruizenga Art Museum is showing the exhibition “In Memory: The Art of Billy Mayer” from Tuesday, May 29, through Saturday, Sept. 8. The exhibition provides a retrospective look at the artistic career of Hope art professor Billy Mayer, who passed away unexpectedly at age 64 in November 2017, and includes examples of his work in a broad range of genres, from ceramics and metal sculpture to collages, photographs and mixed-media installation pieces.
Buys Soccer Field and Van Andel Soccer Stadium are located at 245 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. Parking is available across Fairbanks Avenue at the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse, and at the Ray and Sue Smith Stadium located at 313 Fairbanks Ave., between 13th and 16th streets.
The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is located at 275 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets. The Kruizenga Art Museum is located at 271 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets. Windmill Island Gardens are located at 1 Lincoln Ave., north of Seventh Street.
Additional information about Community Day may be obtained by calling the college’s Division of Public Affairs and Marketing at 616-395-7860 or online at hope.edu/communityday.
In the event of rain, the picnic will be moved inside the DeVos Fieldhouse. If the picnic is moved inside, announcements will be made online at hope.edu and on area radio stations.