Homecoming 2014: a weekend of festivities and fellowship
Leslie Hague ’89 loved seeing all the green and gold at William & Mary this weekend.
“That immediately makes me feel like I'm back at home," Hague said.
Hague was one of hundreds of William & Mary alumni who returned to their alma mater Oct. 16-19 for Homecoming 2014, a weekend filled with the rekindling of old bonds and the forming of new ones. The weekend, highlighted with the traditional events like the Homecoming parade, offered something for everyone, including an alumni rugby game, talks by local authors and a kayak trip hosted by W&M’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
{{youtube:medium|vZpf5Vl9WzQ, Highlights from the Homecoming Parade}}
Grand Marshals Doug Morton '62 and Marilyn Brown HON '07 led Friday’s Homecoming parade, which featured floats created by various student organizations, fraternities, sororities, music groups and sports clubs. There were also performances by the W&M Pep Band and marching bands from Virginia high schools.
"If we didn't enjoy it, we wouldn't come,” Morton said. "We come to Williamsburg a lot. We like the town of Williamsburg and the school, and we get to see people we know."
Fire engines, boats, and even the trolley were seen in this year's parade as students and alumni, danced and cheered down Richmond Road, passing fans old and young, as well as a panel of judges stationed at the Alumni House.
Friday night concluded with a pep rally at Zable Stadium and block party at the Alumni House featuring various food trucks, a beer- and wine-tasting festival and music by alumni bands The Dimeslots and Major & the Monbacks.
"I feel like it's my home,” Ravay Snow '86 said. "I'm from Denver so I don't get a chance to come out here very often, but we've had friends organize things and it's just so nice to come back to the campus and see people I haven't seen for a long time."
The parties and tailgating that began on Friday only increased on Saturday, as a cornucopia of events attracted students, alumni and the surrounding Williamsburg community to campus. From a coffee and conversation event with President Taylor Reveley to a children's carnival on the Sunken Garden, the day's activities offered something for everyone.
Andrew Vanderhoof '77 planned on attending both traditional and non-traditional events throughout the weekend.
"We did the beer and wine tasting last night, and the president’s reception for five-year reunion volunteers," said Vanderhoof. "We do the tailgate in the Sunken Garden and the football game."
Other events throughout Saturday included Wrenstock, a capella concerts, reunion class bell ringing, PhysicsFest and a W&M men's rugby alumni match in which current and former players played against one another.
The excitement and comraderie only intensified into the afternoon Saturday, as students and alumni alike adorned themselves in green and gold to tailgate before the football game against the Villanova Wildcats.
Although the Tribe lost to the Wildcats 31-35, sprits remained high with events continuing late into the evening, including the Black Student Organization’s Homecoming Stompfest, a step show in which students from the National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities and sororities competed for cash prizes.
"My favorite part about Homecoming is really seeing all of the alumni," said RAE-Mischel Thompson Cooper '16. "It's a really great reminder that the connections you make while on campus definitely go with you after graduation."
