UW alumni get VIP experience at Homecoming 2007

More Badger fans and friends than ever before will be able to join in this year’s Homecoming celebrations at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

All are invited to celebrate this year’s theme — "Where in the World is Bucky Badger?" — at a run/walk for charity, the annual Homecoming parade, a pep rally and fireworks display, and a football game-day tailgate party. Badgers past and present have celebrated the time-honored Homecoming tradition at UW–Madison since 1911.

The 22nd annual Homecoming Charity Run/Walk starts at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21, on Library Mall. The 5k run/walk follows a route along the Lake Mendota shoreline and through the UW–Madison campus and ends with a cookout lunch in Library Mall. The cost is $20 for adults and $15 for students with pre-registration. Participants can register early online or beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the day of the race. In addition to this year’s run/walk, children 14 and under (and their parents) are welcome to run alongside UW–Madison’s mascot in the first-ever Kids’ One-Mile Fun Run with Bucky at 10:30 a.m. 

The Homecoming parade in downtown Madison will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26. Community members are invited to join alumni and students in finding Bucky at the parade, which will feature homemade floats, prizes, performances and the UW Marching Band. Traffic on Langdon, Wisconsin, Gilman and State streets will be re-routed during the parade.

"This year’s parade will start an hour earlier than in years past," says Emily Fox, a UW–Madison senior and co-chair of the Homecoming Committee. "We hope the time change makes it possible for more students, grads and families in Madison to make it to the campus festivities."

The parade will be immediately followed by the 7 p.m. pep rally and fireworks display at Memorial Union.

This year, UW–Madison graduates can have the best seats in the house for the fireworks show at the annual All-Alumni Reception in Memorial Union. For just $5, UW–Madison alumni and their guests will be served refreshments and ice cream and will have a VIP view of the fireworks display over Lake Mendota. The reception, from 5:30-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, will include door prizes, special appearances by Bucky Badger, the UW Spirit Squad and UW Alumni Band, and the chance to meet up with fellow Badger graduates.

The week concludes on Saturday, Oct. 27, with the Wisconsin Alumni Association‘s Badger Huddle tailgate at the UW Field House. Attendees can participate in the Homecoming Silent Auction and gear up for the Wisconsin vs. Indiana game, immediately following the tailgate.

Founded in 1861, WAA offers UW alumni and friends a wide variety of services, including the award-winning On Wisconsin magazine, Badger Insider magazine, career services, international travel opportunities and lifelong learning events.