Food, faculty, family, and fun in a first-of-its-kind event

A sudden mid-October drop in temperature – and some early Friday rain – could not dampen our spirits as IU SON, Bloomington took part in its FIRST EVER Homecoming Parade and Tailgate event.

We called the event our “Homecoming Experience”, as we sought to enhance IU SON, Bloomington’s on-campus presence, boost awareness of our school among our alums, and create a fun, safe, and inclusive environment for our students to engage with faculty. We began by inviting IUB SON alums from across the country to come home and join us at “The Experience”  … and we were off-and-running!

IU SON Class of 1968 grads Ann Harman and Anita Harden were our grand marshals for Friday night’s parade, where we won a third-place trophy! Saturday’s tailgate party featured tons of food, faculty, family, and friends. The tailgate also featured raffles (with lots of giveaways), bean bag tossing, and other fun events.

Our list of THANK YOUs is quite long and includes IU SON, Bloomington Special Projects Coordinator Nichelle Whitney (who led the event), nursing students Larry Wilson, Amanda Holland, Colleen Matthew, Lorena Zelaya, and Carice Rodney for their amazing help preparing the event’s giveaways; Mary Hannah and John Simmons for creating our promotional signage; Sarah Lewis for her support in working with our vendors; Wever’s BBQ; and Blockparty Presents. We’d also like to extend a special THANK YOU to the IU Alumni Association and the IU SON Alumni Association for their support during our first Homecoming Experience.

Take a few minutes now to look at photos from The Experience, as we look back on the weekend’s celebration of what it means to be part of the IU SON, Bloomington family!