The fall season is in full swing, and Halloween is right around the corner. Next week, the Grand Valley State University campus will be transformed into a spooky Halloween town for the annual Homecoming celebration, one of Laker Traditions’ biggest events.

“Laker Traditions hosts some of the biggest events on campus,” said Haley Biondo, Homecoming event coordinator, via email. “The goal of these traditions is to provide a way for students to get involved on campus more and to have an unforgettable experience. Homecoming is a great way to do just that: It is a week-long competition between student organizations and a great way to get involved on campus and to meet other students.”

The theme for this year’s week-long celebration is “Halloween Tricks, Laker Treats.”

“With it being so close to Halloween, it kind of seemed like a fun theme to just go ahead and do, and it’s something you can incorporate really well into a lot of different stuff,” said Alyssa Jones, Homecoming coordinator for the Laker Traditions team. Jones said this theme was chosen through a collaboration between Laker Traditions and Alumni Relations.  

From Sunday, Oct. 22, through Saturday, Oct. 28, there will be fun activities for everyone to come watch and enjoy. Some of these activities are included in Homecoming festivities every year, such as “Sculpt-It,” “LipSync,” the spirit banner competition and the regent reveal. In addition to these annual events, Laker Traditions has added some new activities for students and community members to participate in.

“This year, we are going to be having a game show on Tuesday night, and it’s going to be really fun,” Jones said. “It’s going to be some Halloween-y, just fun-themed questions that they’ll answer. The next night, on Wednesday, we are actually having a haunted house competition.

“Each team is going to get a different room, and they’re going to have to decorate it like a haunted house, and then we’ll have judges and students go through and judge and say which haunted house was best.” 

The Homecoming events will end with a tailgate and the GVSU football game against Northern Michigan University Saturday, Oct. 28, at Lubbers Stadium. Even if they aren’t part of a student organization or team for the Homecoming events, students are still encouraged to come and spectate. 

“One of the biggest benefits of participating is honestly that you really get to see that sense of community at our school,” Jones said. “It’s fun to see how big of a community we are and how well our Lakers work together in teams, and it’s just kind of fun to watch all the events, to be honest.” 

Students can visit www.gvsu.edu/studentlife/homecoming/event-schedule-64.htm for the full Homecoming schedule, as well as the locations of each event.

“Homecoming is a great way to reflect on why we all chose to come to Grand Valley,” Biondo said. “It allows for students to get more involved with their organizations and to meet other students on campus. It is a great way to bring different people on campus together, which I think is the best part.”