Hamilton will welcome back more than 1000 alumni and their guests when it hosts the college’s annual Reunion Weekend, this year on Thursday-Sunday, June 5-8. A special welcome goes to members of the class of 1964 who will be celebrating their 50th reunion. Highlights this year include the Minor Theater Festival marking the close of Minor Theater, the annual meeting of the Alumni Association and presentation of the Half-Century Annalist Letter by Jim Memmott ’64.
A full schedule of events will keep attendees busy through the weekend. Activities begin on Thursday, June 5, at noon with Adirondack Chair Assembly. Join Dr. Mark Kahn ’70, George Conner ’70 and friends to assemble and dedicate more than three dozen Adirondack chairs for placement around the campus. The chairs will pay tribute to distinguished faculty and beloved classmates who have served the College and our country.
Professor of Music Sam Pellman will provide a preview of coming attractions in the soon-to-be-opened Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts at 1 p.m. in Molly Root House 116.
On Friday visit the Alumni Art Show in KJ Commons, where artwork by alumni will be available for viewing and purchase throughout the day.
Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology, will lead a nature walk in Root Glen at 9:30 a.m. Also at 9:30, members of the 50th reunion class are invited to join Bill Huggins, associate director of building services, for a campus tour and discussion followed by lunch. Meet inside Kirner-Johnson.
A dedication ceremony for the assembled Adirondack chairs and all honorees will take place at 10 a.m. in the tent near Carnegie.
In an Alumni College, also at 10 a.m., Sociology Professor Daniel Chambliss speaks about effective undergraduate education as described in his new book, How College Works, with a response by Vice President for Administration and Finance Karen Leach discussing the realities of higher-education finance and approaches to the nettlesome question, “Why does college cost so much?”
Fool's Forge: A Clown Workshop, at 11 a.m., will serve as preparation for the “clown funeral procession” celebrating the “death” of Minor Theater and the opening of the Kennedy Center for Theatre and Studio Arts. Through an exploration of clown logic and physicality, participants will create unique clown characters that they will use to perform during the funeral procession. This high-energy, fun-fueled workshop will take place in Blood Fitness Center.
An Alumni College about Personalized Medicine will focus on how technology, social media and the Internet can be used to promote health and result in a better consumer experience. Examples from the fields of minimally invasive treatments, targeted therapies and telemedicine will be highlighted by Rocco Orlando ’74 in KJ 201, beginning at 1 p.m.
A Class of 1964 Alumni College will feature Monhegan Island Art. Monhegan Island, a tiny island 12 miles off the Maine coast, has attracted artists since the late 1850s, beginning with Hudson River painters Aaron Draper Shattuck and John Henry Hill. Since then nearly every school or movement in American art has had representatives on the island, including such giants as Bellows, Hopper, Wyeth and many more. Ed Deci ’64 will use paintings inspired by Monhegan Island to discuss the history of American art. It’s at 2:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Auditorium.
Kirkland Echoes: Short Plays Inspired by the Kirkland Experience, will be staged at 7:30 p.m. in List 106, and an All Alumni Dance party begins at 8 p.m in the Fillius Events Barn.
Events on Saturday kick off with the 8 a.m. Long Run, an Alumni Cross-Country Fun Run at Steuben Field.
The Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association, Half-Century Class Annalist Letter and Presentation of Alumni Awards begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel. Then the Reunion Parade led by the Bagpipes of the Mohawk Valley Frasers, alumni and their families, will march to the All-Alumni Cookout at 12:15 p.m.
Minor Theater Festival Alumni Showcases will begin at 2 p.m. with stagings of “The Night Letter,” “Saving Everything” and “Days That The Future Passed” in List Art Center 104.
Finding and Affording the Perfect College Fit will be the subject of an Alumni College focused on de-mystifying the world of need-based financial aid. Cameron Feist ’04 and Kristin Merriman ’04 will explain the process of applying for need-based financial aid and what families should expect when going through the process for the first time. It begins at 2:30 p.m. in KJ 203.
A Class of 2009 Alumni College on Beer Tasting will take place at 4 p.m. in The Little Pub. Fred Matt of the F.X. Matt Brewing Company will talk briefly about his family's 126 years of brewing history, including the company's current focus, Saranac Beer and offer samples of several year-round and seasonal Saranac products. He'll answer questions and involve the audience in his discussion about what makes F.X. Matt one of the best craft breweries in the country.
Class dinners will take place Saturday evening, followed by Minor Theater Festival Main Stage productions. “Near Fatal Epiphany" by Sara Carlson ’06 will be staged at 8:30 p.m., and at “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” from Roots in Water by Richard Nelson ’72 at 9:30 p.m. The evening will conclude with a Saturday Night Dance Party with Steak Nite at 10 p.m. in the Tolles Pavilion.
Sunday highlights include the Clown Funeral Procession which will assemble at 9 a.m. and depart at 9:30 from Minor Theater for a procession to the new Kennedy Center for Theatre and Studio Arts.
The traditional Service of Remembrance will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel.
