This weekend on Oct. 12-15, EMU celebrates its centennial anniversary. The campus will be a gathering place for students, parents, alumni and the community. EMU will celebrate with music, food, and theater, giving the chance for students past and present to connect. The main highlights include a “Steel Wheels” concert, the original play “What we bring. What we take. What we leave” by Ted Swartz and Ingrid DeSanctis, and a book signing of ‘67 Donald Kraybill’s “Eastern Mennonite University: A Century of Countercultural Education.”

Both the Centennial Committee and the Homecoming and Family Weekend Committee have been planning this weekend for several years. The weekend will combine the usual Homecoming and Fall Festival activities with the Centennial Celebration.

“The response has been overwhelming,” said Jeff Shank, director of Alumni and Parent Engagement. “We have almost three times the registrants this year than we had last time.”

“The Steel Wheels,” an Americana folk band, have EMU ties, with three of the four members being alumni. The band plays Saturday at 4 p.m. on the front lawn. Shank expects a large turnout. “We have sold over 1,200 tickets already,” he said. “I think that is going to be the event that feels most like a celebration.”

“What we bring. What we take. What we leave” will run Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7 p.m. Alumni Schwartz ‘89 and De Sanctis ‘88 wrote this play specifically for the Centennial Celebration.

Other events include a chapel ceremony on Friday, a bike ride at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, an art show opening Friday at 4 p.m. in Common Grounds, the BSU dance at 10 p.m. on Friday, and a color run Saturday afternoon. A complete list of the festivities can be found at emu.edu/centennial/events. The weekend will be a celebration of EMU’s past, present and future, full of food, music, and fellowship.