Homecoming this year is on Saturday, October 15. Festivities land in the middle of Family Weekend, with events spanning from Friday, October 14 to Sunday, October 16.
Family Weekend begins on Friday with a welcome reception in the Ida Noyes Hall lobby, where everyone will be able to pick up a full schedule of events for the weekend. Family members can check in their luggage for the duration of the reception lasting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Family Fall Festival will be held in the Ida Noyes courtyard, where students and relatives will be welcomed with games, face painting, and other carnival-style activities.
On Friday at 5:30 p.m., Resident Masters (RMs) of each dorm will hold an opening reception for families. Suzanne Riggle, an RM for Max P, compared this welcome reception to that of move-in day. “On that first day, [parents] were dropping their child off at college for the first time, and it was a little bittersweet and a little nerve-racking. But four weeks later they are the parent of a college student who has made friends, dived into classes, worked hard, and even had quite a bit of fun,” Riggle said.
On Saturday, model classes will run at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. for family members to get a feel for how students learn in the classroom. There is no pre-registration required for attendance, but copies of the schedule will be available at check-in.
For the main event of Homecoming weekend, UChicago football will play against Rhodes College. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Stagg Field.
The Homecoming Block Party will take place just outside of the field. Though online registration for entrance is now closed, tickets will be available on-site starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday. On-site registration is cash only, with admission being $5 per person for non-students. Admission gives access to all activities, entry to the game, three food tickets, and various giveaways.
Inter-House Council (IHC) will host the annual Tug-of-War competition before kickoff, featuring all UChicago residential houses. “[The competition] builds house spirit and friendly rivalry between the houses. [It] proceeds in a knock-out fashion, with teams of 8–12 composed of members of a house. The…final round takes place at halftime during the Homecoming Game,” IHC President Camille Choe said. Monetary prizes will be awarded for high participation and winners of the Tug-of-War. House banners painted during the Homecoming banner competition on Thursday night will also be hung up during the block party.
