Dawg Fest ’98

By Larry B. Dendy

Superstar comedian Bill Cosby headlines a jam-packed week of reunions, dances, tours, cookouts and contests as the university holds “Dawg Fest ’98,” its annual Homecoming celebration, Oct. 11-17.
Thousands of alumni are expected back on campus for the festivities, which also include a parade and pep rally in downtown Athens and the Oct. 17 Georgia-Vanderbilt football game in Sanford Stadium, where Mr. and Ms. Georgia Homecoming will be crowned.
In addition to Cosby, popular hypnotist Tom DeLuca and Appalachian singer and storyteller Sheila Kay Adams will perform, and the university will honor famed artist Jack Davis.
This year’s celebration is the result of close cooperation among a number of university and community groups, says Susan Bond, coordinator of reunion programs for UGA’s National Alumni Association. Those groups include the student All-Campus Homecoming Committee, the University Union, the National Alumni Association, the university’s Athletic Association and the Athens Downtown Development Council.
“Alumni are certainly an important focus of Homecoming, but this really is an event for the entire community,” says Bond. “The students have been great to work with in planning, and many university staff members will take part in putting on events. This is a celebration for everybody who has true University of Georgia spirit.”
Cosby will perform in the Homecoming concert Oct. 16 in Stegeman Coliseum at 8 p.m. Most lower-level seats are sold, but upper-level seats remain. Tickets can be purchased at the Tate Center cashier’s window or through Ticketmaster. For ticket information, call 542-8074.
The concert will be preceded by the Homecoming parade at 6:30 p.m. in downtown Athens. With the theme “Showcasing Georgia’s Best,” the parade will feature student-built floats, the Redcoat Band and such notables as UGA President Michael Adams, Athletic Director Vince Dooley, former Bulldog basketball player Vern Fleming, former Atlanta Braves second baseman Jeff Treadway, former UGA football coach Johnny Griffith, current UGA athletes and Carl Swearingen, president of the National Alumni Association.
A pep rally led by UGA cheerleaders on College Square will follow the parade.
Jack Davis, who attended UGA in the early 1950s and has been a leading American illustrator for nearly half a century, will be honored during Homecoming. Davis’s work includes 36 covers for Time magazine as well as record album jackets, movie posters and drawings for Mad Magazine, for which he was an original staff artist 40 years ago. For almost 20 years he has been closely associated with UGA’s athletic department, providing many logos, cartoons and other popular drawings.
Davis will present the first Jack Davis Distinguished Visiting Artist lecture Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the Chapel. His namesake lecture is the first to be endowed in a visiting-artist series started last year in UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art.
Davis created the design featured on Homecoming T-shirts and publications. He will ride on the National Alumni Association float in the parade and will receive an award from the art school prior to the football game. An exhibition of his work will be in UGA’s main library during October.
Students will kick off the Homecoming fun Oct. 11 with contests for street painting and banners. A Homecoming ice cream party is scheduled Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Tate Center Plaza. At 8 p.m., DeLuca, one of the most popular acts on the college circuit, will perform at the Ramsey Student Center.
A “Meet the Players” event Oct. 14 from noon to 2 p.m. on the Tate Center Plaza will feature coaches and players from the football, gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, softball and men’s basketball teams.
Any student who meets qualifying criteria can apply to be Mr. and Ms. Georgia Homecoming. A selection committee composed of faculty, staff and students will choose five men and five women for the Homecoming court, based on such factors as campus involvement, community involvement, grades, appearance, an interview and a personal statement. Students will vote for Mr. and Ms. Homecoming, and the winners will be crowned during halftime of the football game.
University employees who hold UGA degrees will be honored at the Alumni Employees Homecoming Breakfast Oct. 15 at 7:30 a.m. in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
Carl Swearingen, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from UGA and is senior vice president of BellSouth, will speak.
A busy weekend of alumni activities begins Oct. 16 as graduating classes celebrate reunions during Homecoming.
Friday events scheduled by academic units include golf tournaments and social gatherings. Alumni who take the Campus Fun Walk will see how the campus has changed since they were students.
The State Botanical Garden will host “Midnight in THE Garden,” an evening of food, drink, music and dancing, at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, call 542-6150.