Friday night's bonfire and Saturday's game against Columbia will undoubtedly be the highlight of this year's Homecoming weekend. Yet, multiple other events are planned for the enjoyment of students, alumni and community members during the three-day fall celebration.
According to Eric Ramsey, associate director of the Collis Center and Student Activities, events such as Dartmouth Night are geared to engage all residents of and visitors to the College.
Friday's Dartmouth Night, whose main attraction is the bonfire on the Green, will also feature Dartmouth Night ceremonies held on the steps of Dartmouth Hall.
"[The ceremonies] are an opportunity for President Wright to welcome back alumni, welcome new students to Homecoming and invite the community to engage in Homecoming activities as well," Ramsey said. "We also get to hear from selected players from sports teams about their athletic experience and what homecoming means to them. It's a great opportunity to see what Dartmouth has to offer."
According the Office of Alumni Relations website, speakers at Dartmouth Night ceremonies will include David Spalding '76, vice president of Alumni Relations, Rick Silverman '81, president of the Dartmouth Alumni Council, Megan Strout '08, co-captain of the field hockey team and Ian Wilson '08, a captain of the football team.
During and after the bonfire, Programming Board will host a reception of free food and drinks in Collis Common Ground.
The event will have an appropriate apple theme according Programming Board co-chair Cory Cunningham '10. Apple fritters, apple turnovers, candy apples and apple pie will be served.
Cory Cunningham is a member of The Dartmouth Staff
Originally, Programming Board had hoped to do a larger-scale event but they had to pare down their plans due to lack of manpower.
"It's unfortunate because nobody wants to volunteer to help," Cunningham said. "Everyone wants to watch the bonfire."
Another much-anticipated event of Homecoming weekend is Fall Fling, which will be held on Saturday in Spaulding Auditorium at 8 p.m. Fall Fling is an annual a cappella show which will be hosted this year by the Rockapellas and will also feature the Cords. Tickets cost $10 but with a Dartmouth ID students can purchase them for $3.
"We're learning a bunch of new songs," Hannah Rossman, the director of the Rockapellas, said. She said that the group plans to sing Lauryn Hill's "To Zion" and one of their freedom songs about body image, among others.
Cunningham stressed the importance of non-Greek events such as Fall Fling and the Programming Board's bonfire reception.
"While a lot of people consider the frat scene to be a real big appeal of Homecoming weekend, there are also quite a few people that don't find that desirable," Cunningham said. "Therefore it is important that we have non-Greek events so that students not interested in frats can have just as much fun as everyone else."
Ramsey echoed Cunningham's thoughts on what Homecoming weekend means to different people.
"Not everyone at Dartmouth wants to visit a Greek house. Whether they are a student or a returning alumnus, we want them to feel as welcome as possible by providing them with as many opportunities as we can."
For updated and additional information about Homecoming activities, students should visit the Collis bulletin board. Alumni can consult the Homecoming page on the Office of Alumni Relations website.
