By Steve Gilliam, University Relations
FallFest will be B-I-G this year, and founding President Charles Duncan McIver would be proud of how UNCG has grown.
There will be plenty to see and do at FallFest, which runs Sept. 25 through Oct. 5. A full program of arts, athletic, family and service events are scheduled by the university to welcome back alumni and to help new and returning students have fun with their peers.
The big day is Saturday, Sept. 30, with a variety of events for the entire family. Major attractions will be the Spartan Village, the Children’s Festival, soccer and volleyball games, the Tate Street Festival and the Parade of Chariots, which is a revival of the homecoming parade. For a complete listing, visit FallFest.uncg.edu or call the Alumni Affairs Office at (336) 334-5696.
This year, the FallFest celebration will help kick off the public phase of UNCG’s Students First Campaign. The capital fund drive is entering its public phase this fall and had raised more than $59 million through August toward its goal.
The schedule will conclude on the 115th Founders Day, Oct. 5, when UNC President Erskine Bowles visits the campus to help kick off the campaign’s public phase at a breakfast with leaders and supporters. At 9:45 a.m. that day, two of the newest buildings on campus – the Maud F. Gatewood Studio Arts Building and the Beverly Cooper and Irene Mitchell Moore Humanities and Research Administration Building – will be formally dedicated.
FallFest highlights include:
Monday, Sept. 25
• 11 a.m.-1 p.m. FallFest kickoff “Bigger, Badder, Bluer.” at the Fountain. Free.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
• 7 p.m. Fall Out Laughing Comedy Show, with Gary Owen, Tony Roberts and Darren Sanders. Cone Ballroom, Elliott University Center (EUC). Admission.
• Through Oct. 5. UNCG Theatre production of “Macbeth.” Taylor Theatre. Performance times and tickets: (336) 334-4849.
Thursday, Sept. 28
• 7:30 p.m. UNCG Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble concert. School of Music Recital Hall. Tickets: (336) 334-4849.
Friday, Sept. 29
• 7 p.m. FallFest concert with Urban Sophisticates, Elliott University Center (EUC) West Lawn. Free.
• 7 p.m. Women’s Soccer vs. Wofford. Soccer Stadium. Tickets: (336) 334-3250.
• Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Fam Jam: UNCG Black Alumni Reunion. Registration & Social, 6-11 p.m. Friday, Kirkland Room, EUC. For more information call (336) 334-5696.
• Sept. 29-30. Office of Orientation Family Weekend. Call (336) 334-5231 for more information or visit http://orientation.uncg.edu/families/weekend/index.html.
Saturday, Sept. 30
• 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Annual Children’s Festival and Health Celebration, Residential Quadrangle. Free.
• Noon-5 p.m. Tate Street Festival. Free.
• 12:30-3:30 p.m. Rugby Matches, women from 12:30-2 p.m. and men’s alumni from 2-3:30 p.m. Intramural Field. Free.
• 1-7 p.m. Spartan Village, with ongoing live music by the Rob Massengale Band, and a variety of activities that include a Students First Campaign Tailgate party (4-7 p.m.), and the coronation of the FallFest king and queen (6:30 p.m.). EUC West Lawn. Free.
• 4 p.m. Women’s Volleyball vs. Appalachian. Fleming Gym. Free.
• 7 p.m. Men’s Soccer vs. Elon University. UNCG Soccer Stadium. Tickets: (336) 334-3250.
• 9 p.m. Spartan block party with live music by To The Nines. Spartan Plaza. Free.
Sunday, Oct. 1
• 2 p.m. Women’s Soccer vs. Western Carolina. UNCG Soccer Stadium. Tickets: (336) 334-3250
• 4 p.m. Women’s Volleyball vs. Davidson. Fleming Gym. Free.
Monday, Oct. 2
• 7:30 p.m. University Band. Cone Ballroom EUC. Tickets: (336) 334-4849.
Thursday, Oct. 5 – Founders Day
• 8 a.m. Students First Campaign leaders breakfast with UNC President Erskine Bowles speaking. Cone Ballroom, EUC.
• 9:45 a.m. New building dedications. Main foyer of the Studio Arts Building, Highland Avenue.
• 4:30 p.m. Traditional wreath laying and presentation of the Young Alumni Award. McIver Statue in front of Jackson Library.
• 5 p.m. Unveiling of a plaque commissioned by Friends of the UNCG Libraries and remarks by Fred Chappell, North Carolina Poet Laureate emeritus and professor emeritus of English and creative writing. McIver Statue.
Founders Day commemorates UNCG’s opening on Oct. 5, 1892, as the State Normal and Industrial School, with an initial student body of 223 and a faculty of 15. There were two main buildings on a 10-acre plot of land and the curriculum featured three areas of study. Today, UNCG has more than 16,600 students and over 900 faculty members. Degrees are offered at the undergraduate level in 88 areas of study, at the master's level in 66 areas, and doctoral degrees in 22 areas. The campus has approximately 210 acres and more than 70 buildings.
