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| * Purdue University Homecoming |
October 20, 2008
Purdue Homecoming to feature full week of fun
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
The week's events run Monday (Oct. 20) through Saturday (Oct. 25) and include the noon kickoff Homecoming game on Saturday, in which Purdue takes on Minnesota.
"We are excited to be able to bring so many events into the Homecoming mix this year," said Kirk Cerny, executive director and CEO of the Purdue Alumni Association. "Our students have new events for their entertainment, including a charity date auction. The public and Purdue family can enjoy the many displays, activities and charitable events associated with Homecoming, such as our blood drive. The week is truly a chance for everyone to get caught up in Boilermaker pride."
The week before activities start, student organizations will help get the campus in the mood for Homecoming by painting the windows of businesses in the campus area. The groups are encouraged to include this year's theme of "Purdue Sports Classics" in their decorations.
Homecoming-themed shirts are available for purchase at Follett's bookstores on campus. The shirts feature a design highlighting the Purdue-Minnesota game on the front and a list of Purdue Student Union Board homecoming events on the back. The shirts sell for $15, with $2 of the price benefiting the board.
The festivities get under way with the Homecoming Kick-Off Cook Out at noon on Monday (Oct. 20). Purdue Student Union Board will pass out hot dogs, chips and drinks free of charge to Purdue West Lafayette students on Memorial Mall who show their Purdue identification card. Games and inflatables also will be set up.
On Tuesday (Oct. 21) a new event, the CandiDATE auction, is slated for 7 p.m. on the ground floor of the Purdue Memorial Union. Audience members are encouraged to bid on dates with Homecoming King and Queen candidates. The highest bidders will receive gift cards donated by local restaurants and businesses to take their candidates on a date. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Lafayette Boys and Girls Club.
A blood drive will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 22) in the Purdue Memorial Union's South Ballroom. The drive is part of the Purdue vs. Indiana University Blood Donor Challenge, and all donations collected on that day will go toward Purdue's total. The public is encouraged to attend. In addition, student groups participating in spirit week will gain points for the competition through donations.
Gutter Ball the Gophers is scheduled from 7-10 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 23). The Union Rack and Roll will offer $2.50 per hour billiards, $1 bowling games and free shoe rental for all Purdue students with a Purdue ID. Other games, prizes and music will round out the evening at the bowling alley and billiard center located in the Purdue Memorial Union.
Also on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., lawyer, writer and actor Ben Stein will headline the Krannert School of Management's eighth annual Leadership Speakers Series. Tickets are sold out, but media are invited to attend. Journalists who wish to cover the dinner should contact Tim Newton, Krannert School director of external relations and communications, at (765) 496-7271, tnewton@purdue.edu ; or Tanya Brown, Purdue News Service, at (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu. For more information, go to https://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2008b/081013CosierLead.html
The 8th Annual Boilermaker Night Train parade will begin at 8 p.m. Friday (Oct. 24) on McCormick Road by Purdue Village. The parade route will begin at the corner of McCormick and State Road 26 (State Street), head north on McCormick Road, turn east on Third Street, head north on Martin Jischke Drive, turn west on Stadium Avenue and end at Slayter Hill. The parade will feature floats by student and community groups and will include both walking and motorized entries.
A pep rally will follow on Slayter Hill around 9 p.m. The Purdue "All-American" Marching Band and Purdue cheerleaders will perform. Fireworks are scheduled to begin immediately following the pep rally.
The Homecoming king and queen will be announced and crowned during the pep rally and will be introduced during halftime of the Purdue-Minnesota game on Saturday (Oct. 25).
To view a list of Homecoming court members, go to https://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2008b/081010H-PSUBHomecoming.html.
From 9-11 a.m. on Saturday (Oct. 25) the celebration on the Purdue Mall will feature more than 40 tents housing displays by colleges, schools, departments and divisions as well as the dedication of two new landmarks on the Purdue campus.
During an invitation-only ceremony at 9 a.m., the "Unfinished Block P" sculpture will be dedicated. The sculpture is designed to symbolize that all people are works in progress and are never completely finished in the process of growing and learning. Rita and Rick Hadley, from Moments in Bronze in Otterbein, Ind., crafted the sculpture. Journalists wishing to attend the event should contact Christy Jones, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu.
At 10 a.m., the graduating classes of 1958 and 1959 will dedicate an arch and make other announcements involving support for the university. The "Gateway to the Future" arch and other announcements are gifts to Purdue from the two classes on the 50th anniversary of their graduating years. Journalists wishing to attend the event should contact Tanya Brown, Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu.
Among the displays on the mall will be a children's activity area featuring a "big bounce house" with inflatables and an obstacle course. A balloon artist and face painters also will entertain children.
The Discovery Park tent will include a laser-cutting machine that manufactures football key chains. Visitors can keep a keychain and play games for a chance to win glow-in-the-dark footballs. Many tents will offer trivia games and other challenges.
Performances by musical groups and other artists will be featured on the stage between Schleman Hall and the Heine Pharmacy building on Stadium Mall Drive. Scheduled acts include the Purdue Juggler and Unicycle Club, the Black Voices of Inspiration and the Purduettes.
Five area restaurants - Pizza Hut, Subway, Dairy Queen, Sgt. Preston's and Moe's Southwest Grill - will operate the Boiler Food Court near the stage.
Purdue President France A. Córdova will make remarks on the stage at 11 a.m.
The Purdue Mall festivities will end with President Córdova and first gentleman, Chris Foster, leading Purdue's "All-American" Marching Band and Purdue alumni and friends to Ross-Ade Stadium for the noon kickoff.
Writer: Tanya Brown, (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu
Sources: Catharine Adair, Homecoming committee co-chair, (765) 496-2160, cadair@purdue.edu
Margie Tucker, Purdue Student Union Board program adviser, (765) 494-8907, mctucker@purdue.edu
Kirk Cerny, (765) 494-0764, kcerny@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
FILE PHOTO CAPTION:
Visitors to the 2007 Purdue University Homecoming festivities on Memorial Mall watch as volunteers from the College of Science make ice cream using dry ice. Events this year are scheduled for 9-11 a.m. Kickoff for the Purdue-Minnesota game is at noon. (Purdue News Service file photo)
A publication-quality file photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2008/homecoming-icecream.jpg
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