Posted September 30, 2015
Homecoming Week and Family Weekend at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is, for a number of campus leaders, one of the most eventful and gratifying times during the school year.
Homecoming Week, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 2-4, means a lot to Student Senate President Chris Morgan.
“It is a time as a university where we can all come together and be proud of our school and be proud of where we go and get our education from,” Morgan said.
Student Senate has a long tradition of helping out the Student Involvement office with Homecoming, and it is continuing that tradition with Family Movie Night and the football game on Saturday.
A number of other events, both traditional and new, are planned.
Falcons Got Talent, scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday in the Falcon’s Nest of University Center, showcases student talent. Director of Student Involvement Paul Shepherd is always pleased with the turnout.
“Falcons Got Talent is a tradition, but it is always new every year when there are different people performing,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd and Morgan made similar points by saying traditions are important, but infusing those traditions with new events is important as well.
A new and quirky event that will happen Saturday is that students, families, and alumni have the opportunity to stuff their very own “Moo-U” UWRF plush cow. Student Involvement expects this event to be very popular, so Shepherd noted that there will be a limited number of plush cows available.
Events returning this year are the Kickball Tournament and the Glow Run. The Kickball Tournament, set from 7-11 p.m. Thursday, is meant for UWRF students who want to come out to the recently renovated Ramer Field and play kickball on the turf. The second annual Glow Run will take place at 9 p.m. Saturday beginning at the University Center Mall.
To showcase the academic side of UWRF, the five colleges will be holding open houses to showcase some of the unique things that they have to offer. For instance, the College of Arts and Sciences will be holding a glass blowing and ceramics open house. The open houses will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The traditional Homecoming parade through downtown River Falls is set from 10:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, followed by the Falcon Fest Tailgate from noon to 4 p.m. at the University Center Mall. There will be a picnic style lunch along with music, yard games and face painting. The local UWRF celebrity, Freddy Falcon, will make an appearance at the Falcon Tailgate Party, so students, families, and alumni will get to capture a precious moment with the mascot.
The up-and-coming UWRF football team will take on UW-La Crosse in a big conference matchup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Ramer Field. For those who are attending the Falcon Fest Tailgate and want to go to the football game, there will be a trolley service shuttling fans up to Ramer Field at David Smith Stadium.
This is the second straight year that Homecoming and Family Weekend have been combined. Shepherd said combining the two events worked out very well.
“It is kind of fun to see alumni interacting with the family members of current students,” he said. “It’s just kind of one big Falcon family weekend.”
For more information on all of the events that are happening during Homecoming Week and Family Weekend, visit the UW-River Falls website.
The article may be found online at https://uwrfjournalism.org/2015/09/homecoming-week-mixes-traditional-events-new-attractions/.