By Matthew M. Billiot, student news writer, Office of University Communications

“Stars and Stripes” is the theme of this year's Homecoming which will honor all veterans with veterans being grand marshals of the Homecoming parade.

Brig. Gen. Scott Campbell, deputy adjutant general for the Kentucky National Guard, will speak and many other veterans will also participate both on campus and in the annual parade at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6.

Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) students from Campbellsville University and Western Kentucky University will carry a 20 by 30-foot flag in the parade and also prior to the beginning of the football game when all veterans will be recognized, Darryl Peavler, director of alumni relations, said.

Campbell will speak during a special ceremony at 3 p.m. on Stapp Lawn.

Many events this year will also be later in the afternoon since the football game is at 7:01 p.m. and not in early afternoon.

The parade, for example, is at 4 p.m. and not in the morning as usual, Peavler said.

Nevertheless, he said, all of the annual events and many others are planned.

“Homecoming is a great time for alumni to come home and students to enjoy the festivities,” Peavler said.

Homecoming festivities will kick off at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 4 with the Class of 1958 Reunion. This will be the class' 60th reunion and will be in the Chowning Executive Dining Room.

Friday, Oct. 5, at 11 a.m., there will be a reunion lunch for the Golden Heritage Club in the BASC Banquet Hall. At 2 p.m., the class of 1968 will be inducted into the Golden Heritage Club. This honor is given to alumni who have celebrated 50 years or more since graduating. The ceremony will be in Ransdell Chapel, 401 N. Hoskins Ave., Campbellsville.

Beginning at 6 p.m., the Banquet Hall will be hosting the Alumni Reception and Awards Ceremony. At this dinner, the 2018 Distinguished Alumni will be announced.

The Theater department will be performing, “Once Upon a Mattress” as this fall's musical production.

You can see this rendition Friday night at 8 o'clock or Saturday, Oct. 6, at 2:30 p.m. The performance will be in the Russ Mobley Theater.

The Maroon Goons Pep Rally will be the final event of the evening. It will be in the Student Activity Center beginning at 9 p.m.

All day long on Saturday, the second annual Maroon and Gray Give Day will take place, Peavler said. This is a 24-hour scholarship fundraiser. Last year, he said, 1,162 gifts were pledged in 24 hours.

The Office of Development is looking to beat last year's record.

Anyone wanting to make a pledge can stop by the Give Day locations on campus, give online or call the Office of Development at (270) 789-5211.

Ed Pavy, director of campus ministries, will kick off Saturday's events with a motorcycle ride at 9 a.m. Riders will take off from the Chowning Patio, located on the Books n Beans side of Montgomery Library, and navigate their way through Taylor County. Anyone interested in taking part in the ride should contact Pavy at (270) 789-5227.

There will be an alumni art exhibit from 10 a.m. to noon in The Pence-Chowning Art Gallery featuring Billie Sue Kibbons, a 1975 graduate of Campbellsville College. Her exhibit will run through Oct. 26.

The 26th Annual Homecoming Car Cruise will start at 11 a.m. on Montgomery Library's lawn. The cruise will feature classic, muscle and custom cars from a variety of years. This year the cruise will also feature tractors.

The first 100 to register will receive a custom cap with a Homecoming logo patch on the front and a custom coin.

The coin will feature the Homecoming logo on one side and the CU logo along with the names of the teams competing in the football game and the date.

Registration is from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Contact Stan McKinney at (270) 789-5035 or somckinney@campbellsville.edu for more information.

Also, at noon on Stapp Lawn, there will be a Homecoming festival so that CU alumni may reconnect.

A Veterans Recognition Ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. on Stapp Lawn at the Flag Pole Plaza. Peavler said this ceremony will pay tribute to the brave souls who have served our country.

The annual Homecoming Parade will make its way down Main Street starting at 4 p.m. This is one of the most beloved and popular traditions of Homecoming, Peavler said. Following the parade will be the Tiger Tailgate Party on Stapp Lawn.

At 7:01 p.m. Coach Ron Finley time, the CU Fighting Tigers will face off against Bethel University's Wildcats.

Make sure to stick around during halftime to see who will be crowned the 2018 Homecoming Queen.

For more information about Homecoming festivities visit https://www.campbellsville.edu/alumni/homecoming/.

Campbellsville University is a widely-acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 10,000 students offering more than 90 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The university has off-campus centers in Kentucky cities Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset, Hodgenville and Liberty with Kentucky instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Summersville, and nationally in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay, Jacksonville, Fla. and Chicago. The university also has a full complement of online programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.