KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 3, 2018 – Thousands of students and their families, alumni, faculty and staff will show their Rhody Pride during the University of Rhode Island’s Alumni and Family Weekend Thursday, Oct. 11, through Sunday, Oct. 14.
“An Evening with Joel McHale,” Rhody’s nationally ranked football team, Rhodyville, tours of Peckham Farm, academic presentations, theater performances, and alumni reunions are among the highlights of this year’s program.
See the list of events, steps to register and purchase tickets here.
“We had tremendous success when we combined two separate events, Homecoming and Family Weekend, into one event last year. We found that everyone enjoyed seeing and meeting students, families, alumni and everyone from our Rhody family,” said Karen LaPointe, associate director of the Alumni Association. “Like last year, we have numerous events for the entire community, from academic presentations to quality entertainment and food to football. We want to see a full Meade Stadium to cheer on our nationally ranked Rams!”
The program begins Thursday, Oct. 11, with platinum-selling singer/songwriter Brett Eldridge and “The Long Way Tour” at 7 p.m. at the Ryan Center. His self-titled record, which was the best-selling album (all-genres) upon release, hit number one on the Billboard Country Album Chart and Top Album Sales Chart. Tickets can be purchased at theryancenter.com.
On Friday, Oct. 12, presentations by URI’s faculty, staff, and students will take place throughout the afternoon.
Saturday, Oct. 13 begins with tailgating and Rhodyville at the Plains Road Lot. Rhodyville is open from 10 a.m. to noon and will feature a kid-friendly, family fun zone, with free Rhody pride accessories, and a food truck festival. At noon, URI football will take on the University of Maine at Meade Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at theryancenter.com.
Families can stop by the Memorial Union after the game for a Family Post-Game Reception as well as a “Ram Talk” with members of the Division of Student Affairs.
The URI Alumni Association Young Alumni Council for 2009-2018 graduates will host a young alumni social at Whalers Brewery in Wakefield. Attendees must be 21 and older. Tickets can be purchased here.
Also on Saturday, URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography will hold an open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Narragansett Bay Campus located at 215 South Ferry Road. The theme of this year’s event is “Ocean Science for the Ocean State,” which will feature tours of the research vessel, Endeavor, an aquarium, a touch tank for kids, interactive ocean science exhibits, a wave tank demonstration and more. For more information, visit here.
To wrap up the day, “An Evening With Joel McHale” will be held at the Ryan Center. The actor, comedian, TV producer and TV host is one of the most sought after in the industry, and is known for his roles in E!’s The Soup and hit comedy series Community. Tickets for the event start at $19 for URI students, $24 for URI alumni and family, and $34 for the general public.
Other programming for the weekend includes theater and music performances, men’s and women’s soccer, farm and greenhouse tours, public skating at Boss Arena, and more. To see the full schedule, visit uri.edu/afw.
Alexa Stewart, intern in the Marketing and Communications Department at URI and Public Relations and Communication Studies Major, wrote this press release.