A rededication of the Stockdale Center will be one of the highlights of Monmouth College’s Family Weekend Sept. 20-22, which annually brings to campus the parents, siblings, grandparents and other relatives of current students.
The Stockdale ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, celebrating the new-look facility that has undergone a $6 million renovation following a fire in the fall of 2022.
The family-centric events will begin that evening, when comedian Derrick Knopsnyder performs at 7 p.m. in Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.
“We are super excited for the comedian who is joining us on campus Friday night,” said Monmouth Assistant Director of Campus Events Meredith McGary. “He is doing a special thing for us where the first 50 people who show up will get a free stuffed animal.”
McGary said another thing that she and her staff are really looking forward to is a photo challenge where people will take photos of some of their favorite locations around campus and post them, tagging the college.
“The last thing that we are especially excited about is a special edition weekend coffeehouse on Saturday night,” said McGary. “It’ll be just like our normal coffeehouses, but we are hoping people bring their families out to show them one of our favorite monthly activities.”
The coffeehouse will be held from 8-10 p.m. Saturday on the lower level of the Stockdale Center.
Inflatables, games, kettle corn and other activities will be available from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday in The Quad behind Stockdale Center, which will also be the site of an all-campus cookout featuring a variety of carnival-type foods.
The annual Family Weekend Concert, featuring the Chorale and the Wind Ensemble, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Kasch Performance Hall of Dahl Chapel, and the concert will be preceded by a pre-performance dessert served outside of Dahl, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday also features a pair of athletic events. At 10 a.m., the women’s soccer team will host Illinois Wesleyan University at Peacock Memorial Athletic Park. At 1 p.m., the football team will play Lawrence University in April Zorn Memorial Stadium. The Fighting Scots Marching Band, the Monmouth College Pipe Band and the Red Hot Scots dance team will be part of the event’s pageantry.
As will be the case all season, prior to Saturday’s home football game, a member of Monmouth’s faculty will be featured in the Great Lecture Series. Physics and engineering professor Michael Solontoi will speak on “Rocks from Outer Space” at 11 a.m. in Hewes Library. The event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.
Earlier Saturday, the college will host an event for families who have sent not only a current student to Monmouth, but at least one other close relative. The invitation-only 21st Annual Legacy Brunch will be held at 10 a.m. in Mellinger Commons in the Center for Science and Business.
***Courtesy of Barry McNamara, Monmouth College***
