Bringing the Dal family together for Homecoming 2011

Don’t call it a comeback – they’ve been here for years.

After all, it’s not like Dalhousie’s alumni are the silent type: many of them help with recruitment efforts, come out to alumni chapter events and do their part to stay connected with their alma mater.

But sometimes, it’s nice to bring the extended family back together again. Hence: Homecoming, which kicks off Thursday and runs through Saturday.

"This will be the second year we have brought Homecoming back to the Dalhousie campus,” says Michael Perry, director of alumni engagement at Dalhousie. “Starting with the Annual Dinner on Thursday evening, we have several activities and events planned, including something in each faculty, a reunion luncheon, and the Lobster Tailgate and Football game on Saturday. We hope to see many alumni, students, faculty and staff over the weekend."

Read: A feast for the eyes and ears: A celebration of the arts at this year's Annual Dinner

Each faculty has their own sort of gathering of students, staff and alumni planned, from the Faculty of Management’s ‘Zero Footprint’ event—an Amazing Race-style competition—to the Dentistry pumpkin carving contest, to an urban design charette hosted by Architecture and Planning, to a photo exhibit at the Schulich School of Law exploring the history and legacy of Canada’s residential schools.

On Friday evening, the women’s and men’s soccer teams will each take on SMU on Wickwire Field. And Saturday afternoon, the university hosts a lobster tailgate party (an event originally planned for earlier this month, but moved to be part of the Homecoming festivities) in advance of a football showdown between the Tigers and UNB Fredericton.

“This year, the tent for the tailgate party is going to be right on Alumni Crescent, and the entire crescent around Wickwire will be closed off for the festivities,” explains Jim Wilson, president of the Dalhousie Alumni Association. “It’s just one example of how we expect this year’s Homecoming experience to be bigger and better than last year.”

Mr. Wilson adds that the Alumni Association has also been working with the DSU to make Homecoming a broader, campus-wide event. The DSU will be hosting events in the SUB and in the Grawood throughout Homecoming, including a concert by Canadian indie-folk band Elliot Brood at the Grawood on Thursday, an Oktoberfest-style celebration during the day on Friday and the year’s first Dal’s Got Talent competition that evening, and a DJ party on Saturday night.

Saturday night also marks the close of Homecoming with Dalhousie supporting Halifax’s first Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Read: Lighting up the night: A fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

For a full listing of Homecoming events, visit the Alumni and Friends website.