Bluffton University's Homecoming weekend, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, will feature a celebration of The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center's 25th anniversary and the publication of "Howard Raid: Man of Faith and Vision," a biography of the late Bluffton professor by his daughter Elizabeth.
The Lion and Lamb will host an open house from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Visitors can talk with the center's founder, Elizabeth Hostetler, and learn more about the new, online videos that describe its peace art works. The center is located on the lower level of Schultz Hall in Riley Court.
Beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, Elizabeth Raid, a 1966 Bluffton graduate, will sign copies of her book about her father in Marbeck Center's Gallery Lounge.
Howard Raid was a professor of economics and business, as well as a Mennonite historian, entrepreneur and ordained minister. The book may be purchased in the university bookstore, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Homecoming Saturday.
Friday
The weekend will begin Friday, Sept. 30, when Bluffton alumni Marietta (Landis) Sawatzky, Lawrence Milan and Jonathan Moyer, along with Betty Sommer, associate professor emeritus of social work, will be honored at the alumni awards banquet.
The evening will start with a 6:30 p.m. meal in The Commons in Marbeck Center. Tickets for the banquet are $15; reservations must be made by Friday (Sept. 23). An online registration form, for the banquet and other Homecoming-related events, is available at www.bluffton.edu/blufftonalumni/homecoming/registration.pdf, or call Joyce Schumacher at 419-358-3456.
Also on Friday, the volleyball team will host Anderson in a 7 p.m. match in Founders Hall.
Saturday
Saturday's events get under way at 9 a.m. with a reception, until 11 a.m., for artist Philip Sommer in the Sauder Visual Arts Center. "Zen Brutalism," an exhibition of Sommer's architectural sculpture, opens that day in the center's Grace Albrecht Gallery. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Homecoming Saturday.
At 9:30 a.m., football alumni will gather for breakfast in The Commons, as will Bluffton alumnae in the Kreider Room, also in Marbeck Center. At the alumnae breakfast, sponsored by the Bluffton University Women's Council, women will share stories of their Bluffton experience and where their education led them. There is no cost for either breakfast, but reservations are requested.
Also starting at 9:30 a.m., and continuing until 1:30 p.m., high school students and their families may tour campus as part of a Discovery Day admissions event. Go to www.bluffton.edu/discovery/ to register.
Baseball and softball reunions, featuring games between alumni and the current teams, are planned for 10 a.m. at the Emery Sears Athletic Complex.
Alumni picnic
Leading up to the Homecoming football game, an alumni picnic will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., also at the Sears Complex. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 3-7. The Homecoming king and queen will then be crowned at 1 p.m. at Salzman Stadium, prior to the 1:30 p.m. kickoff between the football Beavers and Earlham.
A women's tennis match against Franklin is also scheduled for 1 p.m. at the campus courts.
Capping the afternoon at 4 p.m. will be a game of Ultimate Frisbee, for alumni, friends and current students, on the Musselman Library green.
