DANBURY, CONN. — Western Connecticut State University will welcome the community to join in a diverse array of athletic, cultural and educational events during Homecoming Week from Oct. 13 through 19. Events surrounding the “Big Game” include a comedy show, barbecue, alumni art show and a campus-to-campus road race.

• Monday, Oct. 13: WestConn will hold the “Homecoming Alumni Art Show” from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Oct. 19, Warner Hall, Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The art show is free and open to the public. The WCSU Women’s Tennis team will play against Salem State at 3:30 p.m. at the Westside campus tennis courts, off Lake Avenue Extension in Danbury.

• Tuesday, Oct. 14: Mitch Wagener, associate professor in the biological and environmental sciences department will lead “The History of the Westside Campus” at 5:30 p.m. in Room 212/214 in the Westside Campus Center. Refreshments will be provided. The discussion is free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. A fitness lecture, “Bottom Lines and Waist Lines — Kick start your Fitness Success,” led by alumnus Shawn O’Brien ’98, personal trainer and co-owner of Excell Fitness in West Hartford, will start at 7 p.m., Warner Hall, Midtown campus. Refreshments will be provided and the lecture is free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. A Student Dodgeball Tournament will kick off at 7 p.m. in the Bill Williams Gymnasium, Berkshire Hall, Midtown campus. This is free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents.

• Wednesday, Oct. 15: WCSU Women’s Tennis team will meet St. Joseph in a match at 3:30 p.m. on the Westside campus. At identical sessions at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., alumnus John Brodacki ’00, Financial Advisor/Manager of the Maffe Financial Group, and Robert Reby, president of Robert J. Reby Company, Inc., will hold a Financial Planning Seminar. The seminar is free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Topics discussed include: Asset protection, management investments in a volatile market, estate planning concerns and how to make the most out of retirement. A film showing and discussion of “Chak De! India” will be led by Danbury Library Director Mark Hasskarl at the Student Centre Theatre on the Midtown campus. The showing is free and open to the public. Also at 7 p.m., WCSU Volleyball will play Trinity at the O’Neill Center on the Westside campus.

• Thursday, Oct. 16: Join us at 6 p.m. to celebrate the academic achievements of our student scholarship recipients at the Westside Campus Center Grand Ballroom. The Student/Donor Scholarship Recognition Ceremony and Reception is free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. WCSU Faculty Jazz Concert will begin at 7 p.m. in Ives Concert Hall, White Hall, Midtown campus. The concert is free and open to the public. WCSU Women’s Soccer will meet Scranton at 7 p.m. at the Westside campus Athletic Stadium. A WestConn favorite, the Midtown Coffeehouse will include open mic performers followed by the featured act, Derek Waldron ’08 at 8 p.m. in Alumni Hall, Midtown campus. The coffeehouse is free and open to the public. Call Student Affairs at (203) 837-9700 for more information.

• Friday, Oct. 17: Fairfield Hall Tea & Tour: After two years of reconstruction, WestConn’s venerable Fairfield Hall, the first residence hall on campus, has returned to service. Alumni are cordially invited to a reception in the newly renovated Midtown campus building at 1 p.m. The tea and tour is free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. This is your chance to meet the alumni artists at the Homecoming Alumni Art Show Reception from 3:30 to 6 p.m., Warner Hall on the Midtown campus. The reception is free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Alumni from the classes of 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993 and 1998 are invited to an evening of dining and dancing at the Alumni Reunion Gala at 6 p.m., Westside Campus Center Grand Ballroom, Westside campus. Tickets are $75/person. To RVSP call (203) 837-8290. Carlos Alazraqui and Cedric Yarbrough from the hit show “Reno 911” will perform at 8 p.m. at Ives Concert Hall, White Street, Midtown campus. The show is open to the public and tickets are $5/students and $20/general admission. Tickets can be purchased online at www.wcsu.edu or call (203) 837-TIXX. For more information, call Dennis Leszko at (203) 837-8214.

• Saturday, Oct. 18: Stop by and visit the WCSU Athletic Hall of Fame and pay homage to all the inductees. The Hall of Fame is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the front of the O’Neill Center on the Westside campus. This self-guided tour is free and open to the public. The Alumni and Friends Circle Rededication will be at 9:30 a.m. at the brick circle outside of Old Main on the Midtown campus. Gather with friends and old classmates for a Homecoming Tailgate Party & Continental Breakfast at 10 a.m. in the O’Neill Center parking lot on the Westside campus before the big game. This event is open to alumni, faculty, staff, parents and students 21 years and older. At 10 a.m., WCSU Swimming will hold its Alumni Meeting at the O’Neill Center on the Westside campus. Join the WestConn community at the newest addition to the week’s festivities, the Homecoming Carnival. Starting at 11 a.m. on the Westside campus, unlimited use of the amusement rides and inflatables will be available for $10 per person (WCSU students are free). At noon Homecoming Football: Colonials v. Cortland State kicks off at the Westside Athletic Complex on the Westside campus. The game is open to the public; admission is $6 for adults and $4 for seniors 55 and over and children 12 and under. After we crush Cortland state, celebrate with fellow alumni under the Alumni Hospitality Tent at 2 p.m. and listen to music by alumnus Latanya Farrell and the Bookman Styles Band. The tent is across from the athletic stadium and open to alumni, faculty, staff, parents and students 21 years and older. Admission is $5/person. The Homecoming Barbecue buffet with featured entertainer Wacky Chad will start at 4:30 p.m. at the Westside Campus Center Patio. The buffet is free for WCSU students and tickets are $10/person. At 6 p.m. in the Westside campus Athletic Stadium WCSU Women’s Soccer will meet UMass Boston. After a full day of outdoor activities, gather inside the Westside Observatory for an Observatory event: A Closer Look at Cygnus the Swan from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. View Jupiter, the Andromeda galaxy and the early autumn sky. The evening event is free and open to the public. A BSA Party from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. will close out the day’s event. The party is $5/person and open to the public. It will be held in the Bill Williams Gymnasium, Berkshire Hall, Midtown campus.

• Sunday, Oct. 19: Grab your running shoes and join us for the Campus-to-Campus 5K Road Race that begins at the Westside campus and ends at the Midtown campus. The half-mile kids’ race starts at 8 a.m.; the runners start time is 8:30 a.m. and the walkers’ start time is 8:35 a.m. The cost for runners and walkers is $20/person ($25 after the Oct. 7 pre-registration deadline). WestConn students are free and so are participants in the kids’ race. Proceeds benefit WestConn student fitness and wellness programs. For more information, call race coordinator Amy Shanks at (203) 837-8609.

For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.