Merced (Source: Merced Sun-Star, Calif. (MCT) — Merced College officials announced their plans to celebrate the campus’ 50th anniversary this week with a variety of events geared toward highlighting its achievements.
Most of the events are scheduled to take place around its Alumni Homecoming Weekend, Sept. 21-22. The celebration will wrap up with a gala banquet tentatively scheduled for May 18, 2013.
“I think for the community this is a real milestone for their community college,” said Robin Shepard, executive director of the Merced College Foundation and spokesman for the college. “It’s our opportunity to celebrate the past, but also to look forward to the future.”
Also, with new President Ron Taylor coming on board, the college will be “maturing and moving into a new era,” Shepard said.
A concert featuring legendary San Francisco rock and funk band Lydia Pense and Cold Blood will kick off the festivities Sept. 21 at the Merced Theatre. The event, organized by the Merced College Foundation and sponsored by the Educational Employees Credit Union, will include a performance by local blues band Mike Hammar and the Nails, winner of the 2009 Monterey Blues Festival Battle of the Blues Bands.
On Sept. 22, the foundation will host its alumni barbecue, classic car show and homecoming football game at Don Odishoo Field. The event is being sponsored by the Joseph Gallo Farms and the Peter J. Gallo Foundation, and will include a tri-tip lunch and admission to the homecoming game against Feather River College for $10. There will also be displays from many areas of the college.
Merced College will partner with the Merced County Historical Society to present an exhibit of the college’s historical artifacts and memorabilia. The exhibit will be on display from Oct. 11 to Jan. 27 at the Merced County Courthouse Museum. A public reception will take place on Oct. 11.
The college will be collecting objects that represent the culture at the college in 2012, and will place them inside a time capsule. The time capsule is to be opened 50 years from now, when the college celebrates its 100 anniversary, Shepard said.
If you’re going
Tickets for the Lydia Pense and Cold Blood/Mike Hammar and the Nails concert are $35 and $25, and can be obtained by visiting the Merced Theater online ticket sales site at: http://tickets.mercedtheatre.org
For information about tickets to the alumni barbecue, classic car show, and the homecoming football game, contact the Merced College Foundation at (209) 381-6470.
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©2012 the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.)
Visit the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.) at www.mercedsunstar.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Source: Merced Sun-Star, Calif. (MCT)
