The University of Maine at Presque Isle is hosting a jam-packed Homecoming 2010 celebration from Friday, Sept. 17 to Sunday, Sept. 19, offering everything from a concert by famed interactive retro band Motor Booty Affair to a silent auction to athletic events, socials, alumni games and the annual Hall of Fame dinner.
Festivities kick off at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 17 in the Campus Center with a Constitution Day lecture by Dr. Brent Andersen. At 1 p.m., the UMPI’s Men’s Soccer team hosts the University of Maine at Machias; the Women’s game will follow at 3 p.m. At 2 p.m., there will be a Faculty Emeritus and Retired Staff Reception at the President’s House. President Don Zillman will deliver the State of the University Address in Wieden Auditorium at 3 p.m., with the unveiling of the new outdoor stone sculpture To the Other Side immediately to follow near Folsom Hall. This sculpture symbolizes the final part of the Folsom Hall renovation project.
Items for the Alumni Association Silent Auction will be on display, and available for bidding, from Friday evening until Saturday evening. The UMPI Baseball team will face the University of Maine at Fort Kent on the Presque Isle High School field at 5 p.m. The annual Women’s Soccer Spaghetti Supper fundraiser will be held in the Campus Center at 5:30 p.m. – cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children. On Friday night, there will be a musical performance by Revelacion Maranatha at 7 p.m. in Wieden Auditorium. There is no admission for this event, though donations will be accepted. Friday night caps off with an Alumni Social at the Northeastland Hotel at 8 p.m., where there will be refreshments and give-aways.
The fun continues on Sept. 18 at 9:30 a.m. with an Alumni Baseball Game held at the Presque Isle High School field. At 10 a.m., there will be a guided tour of the city by the Presque Isle Historical Society beginning at the Vera Estey House located at 16 Third Street. The day includes many more events, such as: a Bachelor of Social Work Alumni Brunch at 10 a.m. in the Normal Hall Faculty Lounge; Phi Eta Sigma’s National Honor Society inductions at 2 p.m.; the annual “Swim and Gym” at Gentile Hall from 2-5 p.m.; and several varsity athletic games throughout the day.
At 11:30 a.m., the Annual Alumni Luncheon and Awards ceremony will be held in the Campus Center. Marjorie Queen, Class of 1984, will receive the Educator of the Year Award and Sherry Churchill, Class of 1993, will be given the Distinguished Alumni Award. The Classes of 2000 (10 year), 1985 (25 year) and 1960 (50 year) also will be honored during this event. Cost for the luncheon is $10.
That evening, the annual Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner will be held in the Campus Center at 5:30 p.m. Three alumni will be inducted in the UMPI Athletics Hall of Fame during the event: Michelle (Davis) Morse ’96, Matthew Townsend ’00, and Peter Belskis ’74. Cost for the dinner is $15 per person. Immediately following the dinner, at 7:30 p.m., the half-hour film Wind 101 will air on WLBZ-TV. Alums and community members are invited to gather in the Whooo’s Hut in Folsom Hall to view the film, which tells the story of how UMPI installed its 600 kW wind turbine.
The weekend’s main event takes place Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. when Motor Booty Affair comes to the Wieden Gymnasium for a night of disco music. There will be a beer tent and other refreshments at this event. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.
The last day of Homecoming serves as an Alumni Sport Day. Alumni will have the opportunity to compete against students in cross country and soccer in the morning and early afternoon. The Alumni Athlete Hot Dog Roast will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the Park Family Field.
Throughout Homecoming weekend, alums, campus and community members will have the opportunity to view a new exhibition at the Reed Fine Art Gallery, Maine’s Woods; Observations by Bert Lincoln Call and Henry David Thoreau. The Dexter Historical Society is bringing regional and national recognition to the photographic work of Bert Lincoln Call, (1866-1965). Mr. Call was a local photographer living in Dexter from 1886 until the early 1940’s. Call’s photographs were taken merely 30 years after Henry David Thoreau visited Maine. His images illuminate the North Maine Woods, giving visual documentation to Thoreau’s era. Quotations have been chosen from Thoreau’s book The Maine Woods to match various locations of images taken by Call along Thoreau’s travels. The Reed Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed Sundays and University holidays.
For more information about Homecoming 2010, contact Keith Madore at 768-9568.