By DAVID GROUT
Media Relations
Grace College and Seminary

This year, Grace Homecoming events will kick off a month earlier than usual in hopes good weather will allow a full schedule of events and a true showing of Northern Indiana’s fall colors.

A pancake breakfast, 5k run, fall festival/tailgate barbeque, Nocturnal 5 adventure race, and class reunion dinners are among the highlighted activities during Grace College’s Show Your Colors Homecoming Celebration, Oct. 3-4.

An alumni welcome reception and coffee bar kicks off the weekend on Friday, Oct. 3, as well as a special homecoming chapel and alumni awards presentation at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center in Winona Lake.

The afternoon and evening will be filled with options for visitors, including an art exhibit from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Mount Memorial Art Gallery, tours through the Winona History Center and Billy Sunday home and a campus bus tour.

On Saturday, Oct. 4, a pancake breakfast at 8 a.m. is the first of over a dozen events for the day. These include a Homecoming 5k Fun Run at 9 a.m. at Miller Athletic Complex and a family tailgate barbeque and fall festival prior to the men’s soccer and women’s volleyball games. The day’s sporting events also include a cross country race at 10:30 a.m., women’s softball scrimmage, men’s baseball game, and alumni basketball games over the course of the day.

At 5 p.m., there will be a homecoming banquet for Grace alumni of all ages, featuring The “No Name Quartet,” an all-alumni singing group made up of Bob Jackson (BS ’91), Jeff Secaur (BS ’81, S ’84), Mike Yocum (BS ’79) and Tim Yocum (BS ’84). It will also feature the Grace Alumni Brass, who will be performing a pops concert.

Information about class-year-specific reunions can be found at grace.edu/alumni/events/homecoming. The Nocturnal 5 adventure race caps off the weekend’s events, beginning at 8:30 p.m. at the MOCC. Register at www.metzgeroutdoors.com.

“What’s really been significant this year is that homecoming has been moved up a month,” said Tammy Denlinger, director of alumni relations at Grace College. “It’s been in November for many years, and we’re hoping for some warmer weather this year so we can show off the fall colors and offer more sporting and outdoor activities. We want to make sure we have something for everyone. The alumni awards presentation and homecoming chapel are also unique this year and we are excited to once again recognize our outstanding alumni.”

For a complete list of homecoming events and class reunions, visit grace.edu/alumni/events/homecoming.