Indiana University of Pennsylvania will offer its annual Homecoming celebration on October 9–11, 2009, with alumni, friends, and community members in mind.
This year's Homecoming Ball will be held at the Indiana Country Club on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Hosted by Dr. Tony Atwater, IUP president, and his wife, Dr. Beverly Roberts-Atwater, the Homecoming Ball is open to the community as well as returning alumni. The IUP Jazz Ensemble will provide music.
All proceeds from the dinner-dance benefit the IUP Presidential Scholars Fund, which provides scholarships for first-year students who are first-generation college students.
Tickets for the ball are $75 per person and can be reserved by calling the University Events office at 724-357-2145.
The Homecoming parade, with a theme of “Our Global Community: Cities From Around the World,” will start at 10:00 a.m. Saturday. It will feature nearly seventy campus and community units, including five floats depicting the cities of Paris, New York, Las Vegas, Giza (Egypt), New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Indiana.
For the third year, the parade route includes the IUP Oak Grove as a spectator area. The parade will start at Thirteenth and Philadelphia streets and travel east to Sixth and Philadelphia streets, south on Sixth Street to Church Street, west on Church Street to Oakland Avenue, and southwest on Oakland Avenue to Eleventh Street, where the parade will disband. All motor-driven floats will continue southwest on Oakland Avenue to the Robertshaw building for disassembly.
Firing of the IUP Department of Military Science's howitzer cannon, which will be near the Indiana County Court House, will signal the start of the parade.
Immediately following the parade, more than one hundred IUP student volunteers will work to clean up the parade route.
Three members of the class of 1959 will serve as grand marshals for this year's parade. They are Robert Cleminson, of Nellysford, Va., a retired marketing executive from ExxonMobil; Ronald Frey, of Mount Laurel, N.J., a retired biology teacher; and Joan Zima Moss, of Johnstown, a retired guidance counselor from Greater Johnstown Vocational Technical School. Moss's granddaughter attends IUP. Both Cleminson and Frey played football while they were students at IUP.
Five marching bands will be in the parade from the following schools: IUP, Blairsville High School, Indiana Area Senior High School, Marion Center High School, and Purchase Line High School.
IUP's Homecoming royalty will also appear in the parade.
- Nicole Buzzelli and Dan Fleming, both of Creekside, were chosen by members of the IUP student body as the queen and king of the Indiana campus.
- Jamee Joppy and Billy Harden, both of Harrisburg, were selected as the Homecoming queen and king of IUP at Punxsutawney.
- Vanessa Oren, of Macungie, and Brian O'Shea, of York, are first runners-up for Homecoming queen and king at the Indiana campus.
Also Saturday, the Pre-Game in the Oak Grove festival, free and open to all members of the community, will be offered from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The festival includes the Kidz Karnival, formerly held on North Seventh Street in downtown Indiana. Organized by the IUP Ambassadors student group, this festival features a variety of children's events, with cartoon characters, games, crafts, and prizes.
Pre-Game in the Oak Grove also will offer music by bands from the parade, music by a disc jockey, and photo opportunities with the IUP cheerleaders and Norm, the Crimson Hawk.
A new event this year for the Oak Grove festival is a story walk, sponsored by the Allegheny Arboretum at IUP, the Friends of the Parks, and the Indiana Free Library. Pages of the book Leaves by David Ezra Stein will be posted throughout the Oak Grove for Saturday's festival and will remain up for the following week.
Presentation of prizes for parade floats will be held in the Oak Grove at 11:45 a.m.
Judges for the float competition are Claire Hogan, representing Indiana Borough Council; Michael Hood, dean of the College of Fine Arts; Joseph Mastream, IUP student; and Sherry Renosky, an IUP alumna and representative of the Indiana Mall Association.
Sponsoring the float awards are the IUP Alumni Association, first-place award of $1,000; Indiana Mall Association, second place, $900; Co-op Store, third place, $800; Student Government Association, fourth place, $700; Foundation for IUP, fifth place, $600; and American Water, sixth place, $500.
Renda Broadcasting will be in the parade broadcasting live. A re-broadcast of the parade will be shown later in October on WIUP-TV.
Other traditional events include the Crimson Huddle and alumni pre-game tent party, open to all alumni and friends, at 11:00 a.m. in the tent next to the Miller Stadium and the Homecoming football game at 2:00 p.m., in which IUP will face Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.
Homecoming royalty and parade float prize sponsors will be recognized during halftime. The halftime show will also feature the IUP Marching Band, under the direction of Dr. David Martynuik. The band will present the post-game show at the stadium immediately following the game.
The Fifth Quarter Celebration, open to all alumni, will take place from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Upstairs at The Coney, Philadelphia Street.
Other weekend events that are free and open to the community include the following:
Thursday, October 8
The African American Cultural Center presents a Mexican cuisine and salsa contest at 6:00 p.m. at Cozumel Restaurant, 626 Philadelphia Street.
Friday, October 9
- A men's and women's alumni swimming relay challenge will be held from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Field House.
- A men's and women's alumni soccer event will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the South Campus fields.
- The African American Cultural Center presents a concert by The Image Band, an Afro-Caribbean, reggae, and rhythm and blues band, at the Hadley Union Building from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 10
The IUP women's soccer team will compete against East Stroudsburg at 1:00 p.m. at the South Campus fields.
Sunday, October 11
The annual Homecoming concert, featuring the IUP Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphony Band, will be held at 3:00 p.m. at the IUP Performing Arts Center's Fisher Auditorium.
Tickets for the concert are available in advance at the Hadley Union Building ticket office on the IUP campus. Remaining tickets can be purchased at the door forty-five minutes before the start of the performance. Tickets are $9 for regular admission, $8 for seniors and groups, and $6 for students with I-card and children.
For more information about the Homecoming concert, call the Fine Arts Public Events Office at 724-357-2547 or the Hadley Union Building ticket office at 724-357-1313.
See a complete list of Homecoming events.