If you are filled to the brim with Bobcat pride and eager to show your love for UC Merced, look no further than this weekend’s Homecoming celebration.
Homecoming runs Friday through Sunday, Oct. 18-20, with the second annual Downtown Block Party kicking off festivities Friday night. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on N Street between 18th and 19 th streets. Admission is free. Attendees can purchase food and enjoy music; kids are welcome to watch the 2019 version of “The Lion King” inside the UC Merced Downtown Campus Center (DCC). RadioBio, a podcast produced by UC Merced graduate students and recently picked up by the National Science Foundation, will host an event at the DCC from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On Saturday, the community is invited to campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for tours and the Bobcat Fun Zone, which includes face painting, balloon twisting, inflatables and more. Stick around for the women’s and men’s alumni basketball games on Hostetler Court from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Homecoming weekend also serves as the 10-year reunion of the class of 2009 — the first full undergraduate graduating class in UC Merced’s history. The community is invited to celebrate with the founding class during Bobcats + Brews from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday near the new Arts and Computational Sciences Building and is open to anyone age 21 or older.
Homecoming festivities conclude Sunday with soccer games on Bobcat Field. The women’s game starts at 1 p.m. and the men’s at 3 p.m. The teams host Soka University of America from Aliso Viejo.
