Thank God It’s Friday: Homecoming Weekend Events

Homecoming Weekend is here.

Thousands of alumni are back in Happy Valley for a weekend of football and festivities. 

It’s one of the busiest weekends during the fall semester, and that makes for plenty of events to break down in this week’s edition of Thank God It’s Friday.

Here are the highlights from the coming weekend.

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FRIDAY:

Get a good spot on College Avenue.

That’s right. The parade is tonight and it begins at 6 p.m. Roads will be closed downtown from 5:30 p.m. on to prepare for the Homecoming Parade.

Before you head down to College Avenue, be sure to stop by the Berkey Creamery from 1 to 4 p.m. for an ice cream social provided by the Alumni Association.

If you can’t make it to the parade, it will be live-streamed online here.

Celebrate a State College filmmaker and watch his newest creation.

“We Trust Your Judgement” will hold its world premiere tonight at 8 p.m. at the State Theatre. State College native Mark Kodelmann will present his film, which dives into the world of extreme skiing and rock climbing.

Here’s the trailer:

The film will be followed by a musical performance by Jmac & Junior and Friends, a duo born out of Centre County. Be sure to buy your tickets for the film and concert in advance on the State Theatre website.

Are you more of an electronic music fan?

Wildly popular house DJ Zedd will perform at the Bryce Jordan Center tonight. The show kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will certainly include hits off his latest album, “True Colors.”

Special guests Dillon Francis and Alex Metric will also be spinning on stage before the Grammy award-winning Zedd closes out the show. The show is sold out, but there are plenty of tickets for sale on StubHub and Craigslist if you missed out.

Watch the Nittany Lions in action.

Penn State women’s field hockey will take on Maryland at 4 p.m. at the Field Hockey Complex on campus. The Nittany Lions are 5-6 and will be seeking an upset win against the No. 8 Terrapins.

Penn State men’s soccer plays tonight too, also taking on Maryland. The team is coming off a 2-0 win over Rutgers on the road last weekend and is 5-3-2 overall with a 2-1-1 conference record. 

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SATURDAY:

It’s Homecoming gameday.

Penn State will take on the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium, with kickoff taking place at 12 p.m. The Homecoming King and Queen will be announced at halftime.

Before the game, Homecoming will hold a tailgate competition that assesses your tailgate based on creativity, pride, food, atmosphere, and quality. Winners and prizes will be announced and presented before fans start entering the stadium.

Catch up on all of our pregame coverage and analysis from the week leading up to the Indiana game here.

Cranberries, cranberries, and more cranberries.

The 8th Annual Cranberry Festival will be held at Black Moshannon State Park from 12 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. You can enjoy some autumn activities and take to hike to pick fresh cranberries in the bog.

There will also be a chance to make your own pine cone bird feeder, try out colonial candle-dipping, and take a hay ride. And all of that will run you just $1 to participate.

Head to the Horticulture Show.

The Horticulture Club will be hosting the 102nd Anniversary of the Horticulture Show this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. each day.

You can head down to the Snider Agricultural Arena on campus to explore a landscaped area, meet the faculty and staff, purchase plants, or enjoy a cold glass of apple cider.

Admission is free for the event.

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SUNDAY:

Are you planning a wedding?

Nittany Weddings will host the third annual Nittany Weddings Showcase at the Toftrees Golf Resort & Conference Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. You can meet top wedding professionals for everything from catering to dress shopping.

There will also be a chance to win prizes, as well as cocktails and a fashion show. And in case you want to get down and dirty, a cake diving competition will be held to find a prize inside a wedding cake.

Learn more about the showcase here.

It’s slalom time.

The 50th Annual Bellefonte Slalom will be held on Sunday on the class 1 Spring Creek. A challenging course with a variety of slalom moves and 20 to 25 gates is set up in the creek for canoers and kayakers to navigate.

The race begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday and will surely be an exciting event for fans of water sports. This is the final race of the annual Penn Cup race series, which has been held since 1977 for beginning and intermediate paddlers.

You can find more information on the slalom here.

Fight lung cancer.

The Breathe Deep Penn State walk and fun run will do its part in the fight against lung cancer on Sunday. Beginning at 9:30 a.m. the 3K walk and run is an effort to raise money for the LUNGevity Foundation, which does lung cancer research, supports those suffering from the disease, and educates people on lung cancer.

The run and walk was founded by members of Penn State’s Omega Phi Alpha service sorority and will donate 100 percent of its proceeds to the charity. 

The race will start at 9 a.m. at Medlar Field. For more information or to register to participate in the event, click here.

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And if all that isn’t enough for you, check out our community calendar for even more Homecoming Weekend events.