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Students, Alumni Celebrate NC State

It's not just an event-filled schedule - we wanted to offer a number of opportunities for students and alumni to give back to the community.

Jeramy Blackford, NC State Alumni Association
 Rain dampened ths year's Homecoming parade.

Rain dampened ths year's Homecoming parade.

By Dave Pond, Web Communication

From organizational reunions or a free concert to an all-night bash at Talley Student Center, Homecoming 2007 at NC State University offers a chance for alumni and current students to come together and celebrate Pack Pride.

"We tried to develop our schedule of events with alumni and current students in mind, but we tried to think about members of the community surrounding NC State as well," said Jeramy Blackford, Assistant Director of Young Alumni and Student Membership and Marketing for the NC State Alumni Association. "The Embers played a concert Sunday at Harris Field, and we wanted to open it up to anyone who wanted to come and help us kick off a great week of homecoming activities.

"It was a great success - we had a large turnout and gave away twice as much food and twice as many t-shirts as we did at last year's kickoff concert."

Throughout the week, 'Wear Red, Get Fed' has been extremely popular with students on campus. The concept is a simple one - area restaurants including Marco's Pizza, Red, Hot & Blue, Dominos, Wing Zone, Jimmy John's and Rocky Top Hospitality set up shop on the brickyard, offering free food to red-clad students who stop by their tables.

"Not only do these businesses get to share in the celebration of homecoming week at NC State, but it's a chance for them to make themselves more widely known to the students," Blackford said. "With the 30,000-person NC State campus, you are basically talking about an area the size of a small city, so our students are a main source of business for them."

The free-food event has attracted about 1,000 students each day and will be continue through Friday. Giveaways begin at 11 a.m., and continue "until the food runs out," Blackford said.

Although school spirit is the driving force behind every event on the Homecoming calendar, it's not all fun and games. On Wednesday, the university collected more than 11,000 cans of food to benefit the North Carolina Food Bank, and a two-day blood and bone-marrow-typing drive earlier this week brought in record numbers of NC State students, faculty and staff.

"Homecoming Week includes a number of service opportunities which allow members of the NC State family to give back to the community," Bradford said. "We can do a lot of good for the people around us while getting pumped up for the big weekend ahead."

Those events include:

  • The Homecoming Parade: Cancelled due to rainfall.

  • The 5th Annual Pack Howl pep rally and concert, featuring performances by The Avett Brothers, Guster and Brett Dennen, as well the NC State Marching Band, cheerleaders and dance team. Tickets are just $5 for students, $10 for alumni association members, and $20 for members of the general public, with a portion of all ticket sales benefiting The V Foundation for Cancer Research. | Purchase Tickets: Students | NC State Alumni Association Members | General Public

    Rooted in bluegrass, The Avett Brothers' sound seamlessly meanders into country, pop-melodies, folk, indie rock and even ragtime as well. Originally from Concord, NC, their most recent release, Emotionalism debuted at No.1 on Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums chart.

    Friday's concert will be co-headlined by indie-rock touring legends Guster, known for hits like Satellite, Careful and Amsterdam. Pop/folk singer Brett Dennen, whose music has been featured on the popular television shows House, Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs, will open the show.

    Doors open at 7 p.m., with the pep rally beginning at 7:45 p.m. and the concert to follow.

  • A pair of athletic events highlight Saturday's schedule, as Sidney Lowe and the Wolfpack men's basketball team hold their first public scrimmage of the season, the annual Red & White Game, at 12:30 p.m. at the RBC Center. There is no charge to attend this general-admission event.

  • Finally, homecoming week festivities conclude Saturday with the 'Pack in the spotlight, as NC State hosts the Virginia Cavaliers beginning at 4:30 p.m. Individual game tickets are sold out, but the game will be televised on ESPN-U.
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