Winthrop alumni and friends can mark their calendars for Feb. 27 and 28, in anticipation of the 2004 Homecoming celebration.

Homecoming kicks off on Friday, Feb. 27, with Eaglemania 2004, an outdoor festival of food, music and fun. This new campus event will be held at Peabody Field, from 5-11 p.m., and will feature a bonfire and professional musicians Rudy Currence and Dezeray’s Hammer, as well as various Winthrop student performers. Free food and non-alcoholic drinks will be served; beer may be purchased with proper ID. Sponsored by Winthrop’s Council of Student Leaders, Dinkins Student Union and Resident Student Association, this event promises to provide a spirited start to a fabulous weekend.

As you make your way to west campus on that Friday, prepare yourself for some of the positive changes that transpired last year to ease traffic flow and promote safety. Among those are new campus street signs, angled parking and a directional (one-way) traffic pattern. Also, stop by Winthrop’s new Visitors Center, housed in Joynes Hall, and see a permanent exhibit of photographer Joel “Nick” Nichols’ work, heralding his 40 years of service to the university.

Other Homecoming highlights include the annual Tent Town Extravaganza, to be held Saturday, Feb. 28, at a new location: behind the coliseum at the Winthrop Softball Complex. The extravaganza is the place to see both old and new Winthrop faces, to mingle and enjoy food, music, games and more. Make the Alumni Association’s tent your Homecoming headquarters, and view the new, official Winthrop ring when you stop by. For a limited time, alums can exchange their rings for the one specially created to celebrate the Winthrop experience. Of special interest to the Class of ’79 will be their 25th class reunion, which also will be held at the Alumni Association tent.

Following the extravaganza, at 5:30 p.m., will be a men’s basketball game versus UNC Asheville. Tickets to the game are $7 for mid-court sections, $5 for the end zone, and $4 for corner sections. At halftime of the men’s game will be the presentation of the 2004 Homecoming Queen and King as well as a performance by Winthrop’s dance team, the presentation of the Outstanding Young Alumni Award and recognition of Winthrop’s first Athletics Hall of Fame inductees.

Concluding the evening will be the always packed National Pan-Hellenic Council step show in Byrnes Auditorium at 9 p.m. Advance tickets for the show are $10 or $15 at the door. To RSVP for advance tickets, go online to Wustepshow@hotmail.com or call 803/323-2248 for addition information.

Alumni are strongly encouraged to register their intent to attend Homecoming using the online registration form on the Alumni Association's new Web portal, www.winthropalumni.com.  Or for more information about Homecoming activities geared toward students, visit the Homecoming Web site at www.winthrop.edu/homecoming.

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