ETSU is having a “Fall Fun Fest” Homecoming for 2009, with plenty to celebrate for students, alumni and the community from Nov. 9-15.Homecoming Week begins Monday, Nov. 9, with a parade and kick-off at 11 a.m. at Borchuck Plaza in front of the Sherrod Library. ETSU officials and area dignitaries will be on hand to proclaim the official start of the annual observance, and the Homecoming court will be introduced.

Legendary jazz band Spyro Gyra will headline the Homecoming concert Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. as part of the ETSU Mary B. Martin School of the Arts 2009-10 Art Series. The band will be joined by The Jazz Doctors. Tickets are $10 for general admission balcony, $15 for reserved floor, $20 for reserved premium and $30 for VIP reserved center seating with a post-concert Artists Reception (call 423-439-4276).

“Canned Food Creations,” in which student organizations compete in constructing castles, ships or other objects out of canned foods, will take place Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in ETSU’s Foundry Parking Lot at the corner of West Walnut Street and State of Franklin Road, across from McDonald’s. All of the food cans used will later be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Skit Night will be held Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. in the D.P. Culp University Center’s Martha Street Culp Auditorium.

Activities for Friday, Nov. 13, include “Alumni Return to the Classroom,” an all-day event during which alumni visit students in the academic departments from which they graduated to share the knowledge and experience they have gained in their careers, as well as the College of Business and Technology’s Business Hall of Fame Luncheon at the Millennium Centre at 11:30 a.m. (call 439-5300 for information) and the seventh anniversary reception for the ETSU Innovation Lab (1209 W. Market St.) from 3-5 p.m.

Later on Friday, the Lady Bucs basketball team will take on UTC at 7 p.m. in Memorial Center (Minidome), with $1 admission, and a Poetry Slam/Comedy Show will be held at 9:30 p.m. in the Culp Auditorium.

On both Friday and Saturday (Nov. 14), the ETSU Library Associates will hold its annual Used Book Sale in the lobby of the Sherrod Library. Sale hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, and proceeds will benefit the collections and programs of the Sherrod Library.

Throughout the week, the ETSU Division of Theatre and Dance will present its production of “A Piece of My Heart,” an award-winning play focusing on the women who served in the Vietnam War. Opening night will be on Veterans Day, with a special observance conducted by the ETSU Military Science Department and ROTC Program. Pre-show musical performances by The Sugar Candies will begin at 7 p.m. Nov. 11-14 and 1:30 p.m. Nov. 15, with the play itself beginning at 7:30 and 2 p.m. in the Bud Frank Theatre on the ground floor of Gilbreath Hall. Admission is $15 for adults, $7 for students and free for U.S. military veterans.

Homecoming Saturday, Nov. 14, begins at 9 a.m. with the President’s Leadership Society Breakfast at the Millennium Center for current and former board members of the ETSU Foundation, Alumni Association, Buccaneer Athletic Scholarship Association (BASA), Student Government Association and other alumni leaders. The Fall Open House for Prospective Students from 9:30 a.m.-noon gives high school students an opportunity to tour the campus and meet with representatives from the ETSU offices of Admissions, Financial Aid and Housing and Residence Life (call 439-4213).

A special Homecoming Finale Celebration for the whole community will be held from 12:30-3:30 p.m. in Memorial Center. This free public event features music by various ETSU ensembles, storytelling, arts demonstrations and educational exhibits and displays. A Kids Zone offers inflatable activities, midway games, face painting and clowns, while a Kids Extravaganza sponsored by the Student Association for Young Children and ETSU Child Study Center Programs will provide pumpkin painting, digging for gourds and an obstacle course.

Another highlight of the Homecoming Finale is the annual “Luncheon Under the Dome” sponsored by the ETSU Alumni Association, with a menu that includes barbecue chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, sides, desserts and beverages. Following the Finale Celebration is a 4 p.m. men’s basketball game between ETSU and Appalachian State University at Memorial Center (call 439-3878 for tickets) and a 7 p.m. concert by Ken Sizemore at the Carnegie Hotel to benefit BASA (call 439-8398 for tickets).

Also on Saturday, the George L. Carter Railroad Museum (113 Campus Center Building) will observe its second anniversary. The Alumni Gallery and Donor Recognition Walls on the lower level of the Culp Center will be open for viewing from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m., and ETSU residence halls will host Open Houses from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., with one room in each hall open for viewing and staff available to answer questions.

In addition to the class reunions listed above, other reunions are scheduled for current and former members of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and Kappa Delta Sorority, both of which are celebrating 55 years at ETSU, and the ETSU Cheerleaders. A 7:30 p.m. “Chopin 200 Series/Concertos” performance sponsored by the ETSU Department of Music features pianists Katherine Benson, Zachary Hughes and Gregory Wang on works by Chopin for piano and orchestra; a pre-concert talk on Chopin begins at 7:10 p.m. The annual Homecoming Step Show will be held at 8 p.m. in the Culp Auditorium.

Homecoming will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 15, with a 3:30 p.m. performance by the ETSU Gospel Choir and other area ensembles in the Culp Auditorium.

For more information or to arrange special assistance for those with disabilities, call the ETSU Alumni Office at 439-4218. Visit the Homecoming Web page at www.etsu.edu/homecoming for a complete schedule.

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