Last modified: Monday, October 15, 2007
Rock the House!!! And, Celebrate IU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 15, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Hey Hoosier fans, friends and family! Be prepared this weekend to "Rock the House" for Indiana University Homecoming 2007! And while you're at it, enjoy "Celebrate IU" Week, today through Sunday (Oct. 15-21) -- seven days of events ranging from a student activity fair to a faculty art exhibit; from musical performances by iconic rock and folk performers to classical musical concerts by IU's own world-renowned artists; from the long-awaited dedication of an interdisciplinary science building to the inauguration of a new president.
Traditional homecoming events begin on Friday (Oct. 19) at 5:30 p.m. as the 49th Annual Homecoming Parade steps off with Michael McRobbie -- just one day after being inaugurated as 18th president of Indiana University -- and IU first lady Laurie Burns McRobbie as grand marshals. The parade (see map: https://newsinfo.iu.edu/pub/libs/images/usr/3781_h.jpg) assembles on Rose Avenue on the east side of campus, travels west on Third Street, turns right on Indiana Avenue and concludes at the IU Sample Gates for a 6:30 p.m. pep rally. IU football coach Bill Lynch, members of the football team, the Sudler Trophy-winning Marching Hundred, and the IU cheerleaders will fire fans up for Saturday's Homecoming game. Fireworks will follow the pep rally.
Also on Friday, Union Board and the IU Auditorium present the Homecoming Concert, featuring Bob Dylan, at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall. A seminal figure of rock and folk music for the last five decades, he has earned Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Awards, and was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Elvis Costello, another Grammy-winner and an inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, will perform with Dylan. For tickets, visit https://www.IUauditorium.com or call (812) 855-1103.
On Saturday (Oct. 20) Indiana's upstart Hoosiers take on the Nittany Lions of Penn State in Memorial Stadium at 12 noon. The house will be rocking with Big Ten football and Homecoming festivities. Tickets are available, so call 866-IUSPORTS or (812) 855-4006, and be there.
Before the game everyone is invited to the 20th annual Homecoming luncheon at the Mellencamp Pavilion, 10-11:30 a.m. Attendees will hear from President McRobbie, and see performances by the Singing Hoosiers, the Alumni Band and the IU cheerleaders. Admission is $15 per adult and $7.50 for children under 12. The luncheon is sponsored by the IU Alumni Association, IU Foundation, Hoosiers for Higher Education, and the Varsity Club.
Several other events are associated with "Celebrate IU" week, including a competition that requires no helmet or shoulder pads. Today (Oct. 15), the Monroe County Chapter of the IU Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Association encourage Hoosiers statewide to donate blood during the IU-Purdue Blood Donor Challenge. From 2-7 p.m. those interested may donate for the IU cause at the DeVault Alumni.
A new event this year is the Student Organization Fair on Wednesday (Oct. 17), 3-9:30 p.m., at Dunn Meadow. The fair features the World's Largest Cornhole Tournament, free food (corn dogs, pop corn, kettle corn…you get the idea), carnival games, and music from the IU African American Arts Institute's Soul Revue performance group and the award-winning student a cappella group Straight No Chaser. The fair concludes with the Homecoming Bonfire, fueled in part by student-donated t-shirts. One from each Big Ten school will be ceremonially tossed into the flames, with the remainder being donated to charity. The first 200 students showing up with t-shirts will receive an IU "Rock the House Bonfire" t-shirt in return.
Thursday (Oct. 18) marks a most solemn occasion as Michael A. McRobbie is inaugurated as the 18th president of Indiana University at 3 p.m. in the IU Auditorium. The ceremony features the pageantry of a robed academic procession -- the tradition of which dates back to medieval times -- and a keynote speech in which the new president will share his vision for the university and its future. Two-time Grammy Award-winner Sylvia McNair, soprano and senior lecturer in the IU Jacobs School of Music, will perform with the IU Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Professor of Music David Effron. The ceremony will open with Inaugural Fanfare, composed by Professor of Music David Dzubay for this occasion, and played by the Indiana University Herald Trumpeters. The inauguration and a reception immediately following the ceremony are open to the public.
Later that evening, 8-9 p.m., also in the IU Auditorium, another Jacobs faculty member accustomed to appearing on the world's stages will perform. Internationally celebrated pianist Andre Watts will play with the IU Philharmonic, conducted by Effron. The concert is free and open to the public.
Meanwhile, as classical music buffs enjoy a high-brow evening with Watts, IU students will be just down Seventh Street in the Memorial Union's Alumni Hall screaming their heads off. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., they'll compete in the annual student spirit competition, "Yell Like Hell." Entertainment will be provided by Straight No Chaser and Ladies First.
To mark the end of Celebrate IU week, Distinguished Professor of Music David N. Baker, a world-renowned composer who recently received the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts' Living Jazz Legend Award for lifetime achievement, will lead the IU Jazz Band in a second inaugural concert. Scheduled for Sunday (Oct. 21) at 7 p.m. in the IU Auditorium, Baker's band will be joined by soloist Marietta Simpson, a mezzo-soprano and associate professor of music in the Jacobs School. This concert also is free and open to the public.
IU Bloomington's Homecoming celebrations have been expanded to encompass all eight IU campuses to "Celebrate IU. For information on all events, visit https://www.celebrate.iu.edu.
For more information about IU Homecoming events, go to https://www.alumni.indiana.edu/events/homecoming/.
The Indiana University Alumni Association is dedicated to serving the university and its diverse alumni, students and friends. As one of the nation's largest alumni organizations, serving more than 500,000 graduates worldwide, the IUAA provides programs and services to its members, non-member alumni and the university. For information, visit https://www.alumni.indiana.edu or call (800) 824-3044.
