Big crowd expected for Celebration Weekend 2008

Skidmore is expecting 2,000 attendees, including young alumni, and parents of current students, for Celebration Weekend Oct. 17-19.

According to Mike Sposili, director of alumni affairs and college events, reservations for the event are ahead of 2007. As of Oct. 14, 537 families had registered for the coming weekend, up from 469 families registered at the same time in 2007. Said Sposili, "We're seeing a significant increase, although weather, as always, will be a factor. However, my sense is that even in tough economic times, families want to come and spend time with their children."

Designed to provide an overview of campus life for visitors, Celebration Weekend this year combines popular activities from the past with new events. Highlights include Saturday's "Creative Thought Matters" Pumpkin Carving Contest, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the traditional family picnic starting at 11:30 a.m. under the big tent in upper South Park; several athletic competitions and a pep rally; and open houses at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery as well as the Writing Center and the Center for Sex and Gender Relations.

There will be a club fair hosted by the SGA, open dance classes, a celebration of music, and a panel discussion on "Global Skidmore."

Mini-college classes, an enduring favorite over the years, return in 2008. Throughout Saturday, visitors will have the chance to attend short classes offered by faculty and research presentations by students. Several of the classes will focus on some aspect of the 2008 presidential race.

Book signings outside the Skidmore Shop will feature Professor of Music Gordon Thompson, author of Please Please Me: Sixties British Pop, Inside and Out (Oxford University Press, 2008); Claire Olds, author of Skidmore When I Was Dean Olds: A Memoir of Challenge and Change (Skidmore College, 2008. Olds served as dean of students from 1964 to 1978); Heather Moore '08 and Robert Jones, associate professor and chair of economics, authors of The Architect of Necessity: Skidmore's First Home in Downtown Saratoga (Skidmore College, 2007); and Jay Rogoff, lecturer in English, author of The Long Fault (LSU, 2008).

The Alumni Family Tree annual legacy reception, the Parent's Council reception and the annual President's Hour, featuring remarks by President Philip A. Glotzbach, are also on Saturday's schedule.

Other noteworthy events on Saturday's schedule are the fifth annual Friends of Skidmore Athletics Benefit and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Sports and Recreation Center, featuring five-time Olympic speedskater Amy Petersen Peck; and "Under the Big Top," a showcase of student talent, which begins at 8:30 p.m. in the main gym of the Sports and Recreation Center.

There will be campus walking tours and bus tours of Saratoga Springs throughout the day, as well as special family-oriented events at the Tang.

Also on Saturday, there will be "homecoming" outreach to young alumni from the classes of 2005 to 2008. Explained Sposili, "We are expecting a number of young alumni from the four most recent classes even as they devote themselves to the next stage of their lives. We want them to encourage them to maintain their connection to Skidmore."

Sunday's schedule features an open house hosted by President Philip and Marie Glotzbach at their home, and the annual Celebration Weekend 5K Run, which is also open to walkers and joggers.

"Celebration Weekend is just that?a celebration of the best of what Skidmore has to offer its students, alumni, and the larger community," said Megan Mercier, associate director of alumni affairs and college events, who is in charge of the weekend's events. For a complete schedule of the weekend, click here.