Due to the ground conditions at the outdoor venue, the 54 th annual Hope-Holland Community Day picnic on Saturday, Sept. 14, will be held inside in the DeVos Fieldhouse on the Hope College campus.
With Saturday’s weather forecast to be clear, all of the day’s other events are continuing as planned, including home Hope College football and men’s soccer games and evening fireworks. In addition, those with tickets for the picnic will still be able to visit Windmill Island Gardens from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets for Community Day cost $10 for regular admission and $6 for children age five to 11, with admission free for children under five, and include the picnic and athletic contests as well as admission to the island. 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 DeVos Fieldhouse on Saturday, Sept. 14, beginning at 10 a.m.
The picnic will feature live music by the Holland American Legion Band from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Karizma from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. There will also be a prize drawing at noon. The menu will include hamburgers, hot dogs, black bean burgers, vegetarian baked beans, macaroni and cheese, vegetable trays with dip, fruit salad, kettle chips and a deluxe nacho station.
This year’s Community Day also culminates the Hope’s multi-day celebration of the inauguration of Matthew A. Scogin as the college’s 14th president, and the picnic will provide opportunity to meet Scogin from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
The college’s first home football game of the season, with Defiance College of Defiance, Ohio, will be held at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14, beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Holland High School marching band will perform during pre-game and halftime.
Hope men’s soccer will host Heidelberg University of Tiffin, Ohio, on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m., at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.
Fireworks at the soccer stadium will follow the game, on Saturday, Sept. 14, at approximately 8:45 p.m. In addition to being viewable at the stadium for those who attended the game, the fireworks may also be watched from the Buys Soccer Field adjacent to the stadium as well as from the front lawn of the neighboring Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse.
Highlights at Windmill Island Gardens include the 258-year-old “DeZwaan” windmill; 36 acres of gardens, dikes and canals; the Posthouse museum and shops; and, for children, the antique carousel and playground.
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. This year’s Community Day is being sponsored by Old National Bank.
In addition to Community Day’s other activities, both the De Pree Art Center and Gallery and the Kruizenga Art Museum are hosting exhibitions.
The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is showing the multimedia exhibition “Ecstasy on the Surface,” featuring work by the college’s 2019 Borgeson Artist-in-Residence, Leekyung Kang, from Wednesday, Aug. 21, through Friday, Sept. 27. 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 to the gallery is free.
The Kruizenga Art Museum is showing the exhibition “Deities and Devotion in Mongolian Buddhist Art” from Friday, Aug. 30, through Saturday, Dec. 14, and the focus exhibition “Capturing Light: The Art of Shin Sawano: A Tradition for the Future of Japan” from Friday, Aug. 30, through Saturday, Oct. 26. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and admission is free.
The Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. Ray and Sue Smith Stadium located at 313 Fairbanks Ave., between 13th and 16th streets. Van Andel Soccer Stadium and Buys Soccer Field are located at 245 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. Windmill Island Gardens are located at 1 Lincoln Ave., north of Seventh Street.
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.
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.