Every year at the beginning of the Fall semester, the University of North Dakota hosts their annual Homecoming week to welcome their community back for another great academic year. This tradition has been going on since 1916 and is something that students, faculty, alumni, and the Grand Forks community look forward to each year. This year’s Homecoming Week is set for this week, September 23nthrough the 28.
The first major event of the week was the blood drive that took place at the Wellness Center on Tuesday, September 24. The blood drive served as a great opportunity for individuals to give back to their community by donating or by volunteering to help others donate. Part of the excitement about Homecoming is knowing that members of the Grand Forks and UND community will come together to do good for their community, and this event is a great representation of that.
The next major event was set to occur on the night of Wednesday, September 25, and this was the annual Homecoming Pep Rally in the Grand Forks Town Square Downtown. The food trucks opened to the public at 5 p.m., which was then followed up by the program that began at 6:15 p.m. This program consisted of some notable words from both UND’s very own President Andrew Armacost and Coach Bubba. Then there were performances by the UND Pride of the North marching band and UND Cheer. Once the program concluded, everyone was encouraged to stick around to eat some food, play some games, and enter to win one of the two major giveaways.
Friday, September 27 is set to be a busy day filled with various events that are meant to honor alumni, faculty, Hall of Fame members, fans, and various departments. Along with this, a few departments around campus decided to hold their own open house tours. This week is known to be a time where a wide range of individuals can come to visit campus and everyone at UND tries to create a welcoming atmosphere and a familiar one for the alumni.
The annual Homecoming parade is set to take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. This is a great opportunity for the community to come together and support the different organizations and businesses that are featured in the parade. It also serves as an opportunity to get excited about the big game that takes place later that day. After the parade people will usually begin to make their way over to the Alerus Center parking lot to set up for tailgating. Tailgating is an activity that many individuals participate in to get even more excited for the game to come.
After the parade and tailgating festivities come to a close, the final activity of Homecoming week will begin at 1 p.m. The football game between UND Football and Murray State will serve as the final reminder to the community of why Homecoming week occurs. This week and its related activities have been a tradition for over 100 years and continues to thrive each year. It has grown from just a simple game for students to get excited about into a whole week filled with exciting activities and events for people of all ages that are a part of the UND and Grand Forks community to participate in.
Nora Lee is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
