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SALISBURY, MD---From a student-led block party to a kayak paddle and wine tasting along Wicomico Creek, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥’s 2009 Homecoming Weekend is packed with excitement.

Events begin Thursday, October 22, with the annual faculty emeriti and retired staff luncheon from noon-2 p.m. in the Bistro of the Commons. (Admission to the luncheon is by invitation.) Events continue Friday, October 23, with a Varsity Club-sponsored golf tournament 10 a.m. at Nutters Crossing Golf Course. Entry fee is $65 per player, $240 per team. Pre-registration is required.

The Residence Hall Association’s annual powderpuff football game is 3 p.m. on the Holloway Hall Lawn. The SU Athletics Hall of Fame inducts five new members during its annual banquet 6 p.m. in the Wicomico Room of the Guerrieri University Center. They are: Amy Cooke (basketball, 1999), Michael Giuffrida (soccer, 1999), Megan Hopper (field hockey and softball, 1999), Kyle Jefferson (men’s basketball, 1996) and Hunter Smith (SU Athletic Training Education Program founder). Admission is $30, $25 for past inductees. Pre-registration is required.

Activities continue with a Taste of the Chesapeake dinner featuring local band Slim DeNunn and the High Rollers from 4:30-7:30 p.m. in the Commons. Cost is $10.36, $6.30 for children ages 6-12, free for children 5 and under. A free showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, sponsored by the Student Office for Activity Planning (SOAP), is 7 p.m. in Caruthers Hall Auditorium.  The film is also shown 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, October 24, and 7 and 10 p.m. Sunday, October 25.

Also on Friday, slam poet Alvin Lau, whose style has been described as “Billy Collins meets Kanye West,” performs 7 p.m. in Holloway Hall Auditorium, followed by comedian Daniel Kinno at 8 p.m. Kinno has appeared on MTV, ESPN, the WB network and the Game Show Network.

Saturday events begin with an alumni baseball-softball game 8:30 a.m. at the baseball field.  The ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ House and Miller Garden are open for visits from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. SU’s ROTC program presents a drill and color guard team, physical training challenges, prizes and refreshments across from Sea Gull Stadium from 10 a.m.-noon. The Department of Geography and Geosciences also hosts its annual open house from 10 a.m.-noon in Henson Science Hall Room 159. From 3-5 p.m. the department hosts its first Homecoming barbecue in the parking lot outside the Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative Building for alumni, faculty and families.

A luncheon for alumni graduating from 1929-1959 is 11 a.m. in the Worcester Room of the Commons. Admission is $15, and pre-registration is required. The classes of 1929, 1934, 1939, 1944, 1949, 1954 and 1959 will be honored.

The Sea Gulls take on Union College, NY, during this year’s Homecoming football game at noon. Admission is $5, $3 for non-SU students, and $2 for children 12 and under. SU ID holders receive one ticket free. The Office of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Relations and Annual Giving sponsors a hospitality tent from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Sea Gull Stadium. The SU Pep Band plays during the game.

Adrenaline High, Inc. leads alumni on a kayak paddle on Wicomico Creek to the Bordeleau Winery at 1 p.m. The three-hour trip, guided by Stan Shedaker, includes a winery tour and tastings. Cost is $35, and space is limited. Pre-registration is required. To register or for more information call 410-749-2886 or e-mail adrenalinehigh@comcast.net.

Dave Gutoskey, housing and residence life director, takes guests on a tour of renovations at St. Martin’s Hall at 2 p.m. The Student Government Association hosts a Homecoming Block Party 1-4 p.m. on Wayne Street at the Intramural Fields. The community is invited to enjoy family-friendly games and other activities, as well as inflatables provided by SOAP.

The Untouchables Dance Club performs in Henson Plaza at 3:30 p.m. as sports fans make their way back to main campus from the football game. The Multicultural Student Services Office  hosts a post-game jazz social in the Gull’s Nest of the Guerrieri University Center from 4-8 p.m.

University Dining Services and the Cultural Affairs Office sponsor a Halloween dinner from 4:30-7:30 p.m. in the Commons. Admission is $10.36, $6.30 for children ages 6-11, free for children 5 and under.

From 7-11 p.m., the Cavallaro/Cleary Visual Arts Foundation invites alumni to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its art student scholarship fund with a “Denim and Dazzle” gala at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Holiday Inn (formerly Ramada Inn), 300 S. ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Blvd. Tickets are $60. Tables of eight may be reserved for $400. Activities include live blues and bluegrass music, a silent auction and refreshments. For tickets or more information call 410-543-6270 or 410-546-1068, or e-mail mkbrown@salisbury.edu or macavallaro@msn.com. The foundation’s annual art and fine craft sale to benefit the scholarship fund begins Sunday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. in the Powell Building, 218 W. Main St.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ are also invited to a concert featuring SU Department of Music faculty and blues musician Chris English 8 p.m. Saturday in Holloway Hall Auditorium. Joining him are SU’s African Drum Ensemble and fellow Department of Music faculty John Wesley Wright of the American Spiritual Ensemble. A donation of $10 at the door is suggested. Funds raised benefit the Department of Music Performing Arts Fund.

Homecoming events conclude with an ROTC reunion from noon-3 p.m. Sunday at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ House. Former ROTC members are invited to share photos from their time in the program at SU, as well as their post-graduation experiences. Admission is $10, $5 for children ages 6-12, free for children 5 and under. Pre-registration is required.

Other Homecoming highlights include:

Thursday, October 22
• 4 p.m. – Women’s soccer vs. Gallaudet University, soccer field

Friday, October 23
• 6 p.m. – Volleyball vs. Christopher Newport University, Maggs Physical Activities Center

Saturday, October 24
• 10 a.m. – Student radio station reunion, Pocomoke Room, Guerrieri University Center
• 2 p.m. - Swimming vs. Marymount University, Maggs Physical Activities Center
• 2 p.m. - Men’s soccer vs. Mary Washington University, soccer field
• 5 p.m. – Classes of ’74, ’79, ’84, ’89 and the ’80s reunion, Black Diamond Lodge
• 5 p.m. – Class of ’94 reunion, Scarborough Student Leadership Center
• 5 p.m. – Lambda Society Rainbow Reunion – Bellavance Honors Center
• 6 p.m. – Classes of ’99 and ’04 reunion – Brew River Restaurant
• 6 p.m. – Classes of ’64 and ’69 reunion, joined by classes of ’63, ’65, ’68 and ’70, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ House
• 6:30 p.m. – Men’s lacrosse alumni game, Sea Gull Stadium

Throughout Homecoming, University Galleries presents the free exhibit “Body Mapping” in the University Gallery of Fulton Hall. The exhibit is organized by Katharine T. Carter and Associates, featuring four nationally acclaimed artists: Kaethe Kauffman, Tina Blondell, Giedre Montvila and Eileen Senner. Gallery hours during Homecoming are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Admission to all events is free unless otherwise noted. Admission to SU’s Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art is also free to alumni Friday-Sunday.  Special invitations are required to participate in some reunion events. For more information or to pre-register for events call 410-543-6042 or 410-543-6100, or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.