This fall, Queen’s will celebrate our biggest reunion and 175th birthday during October’s Homecoming weekend.
Are you coming home? The weekend event schedule is brimming with activities on and off campus. So far, a record 99 reunioning classes and clubs are returning to campus to participate in the festivities.
From October 14th-16th, alumni can have breakfast in Leonard cafeteria, tour some of the buildings and departments that are hosting open houses, take in some Gaels' action, or student performances.
Saturday’s football game is certainly the jewel in the Homecoming crown and this year, the Alumni Parade to Richardson Stadium has been expanded to include students groups and an on-campus pep rally, ensuring all alumni and their families, even those who won’t be attending the game, can take part.
Sc’06 Reunion Coordinator Kyla Sask puts it this way, “Because so many people our age have small kids, I think it will be really fun for them to come watch the parade and be in it.”
The parade from main campus to west campus is a long-standing part of the Homecoming tradition. This year, the parade will set off from Grant Hall just before noon, kicking off with an on-campus pep rally featuring Queen’s Bands and other student groups and will march up University Avenue, then along Union Street to Richardson Stadium.
“With the changes to the football halftime program, the Pep Rally and Parade to the stadium is a great way for alumni to reconnect with the Queen’s family’” says Manager, Volunteer Relations & Reunions, Sarah Indewey. “We are very excited for students, alumni and community members to march together to Richardson Stadium.”
Decade banners will be held by student volunteers – find your classmates and join in the parade at any point. Accessible transportation will be available, and a rest-stop will be offered along the way. Come early to Grant Hall to enjoy the Pep Rally before the parade, where you can get your face painted at Student Alumni Association’s Spirit Corner and enjoy a complimentary pancake breakfast courtesy of the AMS. The Alumni Meet & Greet starts at 8:30 am on Saturday at Grant Hall where your free reunion pin, pom-poms and foam fingers will be available for pick-up.
Like all of the Homecoming volunteers, Sask, enjoys making it a little easier for her classmates to return to campus. “I like getting everyone together and giving them the opportunity to come back to Kingston and Queen’s,” she says.
Kyla and her co-coordinators are working on their class banner in preparation for the parade. Class banners were a big part of the old halftime parade and with the change in programming, will now be part of the Alumni Parade to Richardson Stadium. Student volunteers will join the parade, carrying the decade banners to help classes and alumni to find their year.
While some Reunion Coordinators are creating and repairing their class banners, others are planning matching outfits or other accessories.
Fred Siemonsen, Class President for Sc’54, a class famous for its ‘slide rule’ parade float (now retired), reminisced, “the most rewarding thing for any alumni is to be able to interact with students.”
Classes are encouraged to bring their banners and Queen’s gear to be part of the Alumni Parade. The Faculty Societies including ASUS and ENGSOC will all be taking part. Turn out in tricolour to join community members, students and alumni anywhere along the route.
