Lincoln University is at it again. It's homecoming time, starting today - and the theme is, "Let's Do It Again."
But it's not just homecoming attracting alumni back to the Jefferson City school on the hill. The LU National Alumni Association's 70th National Convention begins Tuesday, with an executive board meeting at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. The alumni will have events at the hotel and on LU's campus. And the Pep Rally and fireworks display - held on the Sunday night kicking off homecoming week for a number of years - has been moved to 8 p.m. Friday.
"The students asked that the fireworks be when the alumni could join in the celebration," explained Benecia Williams, LU's vice president for Alumni Affairs. "Not on Sunday."
The rally will be held in LU's Dwight T. Reed Stadium - the fireworks are scheduled to start exploding about 8:25 p.m. Friday. They are expected to last about 15 minutes.
The annual homecoming parade begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, from the corner of Lafayette and Dunklin streets.
It will head north along Lafayette to High Street, then turn west and go through the downtown area to Jefferson Street, where it will turn north for one block and head back east (past the Governor's Gardens and Mansion) along East Capitol Avenue until it reaches Lafayette Street.
The parade route then goes south along Lafayette, back to the starting point.
Some streets near the LU campus, including the Lafayette and Dunklin intersection, likely will be blocked during the weekend to help control traffic in the area.
Homecoming organizers will be hanging LU flags in the downtown area (alternating with flags for Helias High School, which also celebrates homecoming this week), and placing signs in various store windows.
The homecoming football game at 2 p.m. Saturday features LU's Blue Tigers hosting Southwest Baptist University of Bolivar.
Saturday's student concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Richardson Fine Arts Center's Mitchell Auditorium, featuring recording artists Waka Flocka and Roscoe Dash.
The alumni concert begins at 9 p.m. at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, featuring Grammy Award winner Deniece Williams and the S.O.S. Band.
In addition to the pep rally, Friday's schedule includes three "naming" ceremonies.
Two are back-to-back at 9 a.m., when Lincoln officials name the "George and Learntene Enlow Overlook" (near Damel Hall) and its view of the campus, followed by the Lucius Jones Print Shop.
Both Jones and George Enlow were long-time LU employees involved in the printing and buildings and grounds work that often go unnoticed but are considered key to keeping a college campus operating.
From 4:15-5:30 p.m., LU officials will recognize the years of service that Robert and Charlene Mitchell gave Lincoln's music department - he as choirs director and she as pianist and accompanist - by adding their names to the auditorium that, for years, has been identified only as part of the Richardson Fine Arts Building it serves.
Homecoming week activities end next Sunday, with the dedication and open house of the new Early Childhood Center at 609 Marshall St. (from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.) and the Praise Break Gospel Fest at 3 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium.
The activities begin with tonight's "LU Dance Machine," from 6-10 p.m. in the Langston Hughes Theater in Martin Luther King Hall.
Monday's events include "Ran'D Shine the Magician," at 7 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium.
And the "LU's Got Talent Student Edition" begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Mitchell Auditorium, with a $1 admission charge.
A complete list of all homecoming events is available on Lincoln's website, http://www.lincolnu.edu/pages/2307.asp?item=3218.