The new Homecoming & Family Weekend Kickoff will bring Colorado State University alumni, students and families together to celebrate Ram pride at Canvas Stadium from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 13.

The event will feature a happy hour cash bar on the New Belgium Porch, food trucks and photos on the football field with CAM the Ram.

“It’s something new that we’re launching,” said Amy Jo Miller, director of marketing and communications for the CSU Alumni Association. “The intention behind it was to give the campus community an easy way to engage and be a part of Homecoming before things really got into the thick of things into the weekend.”

Homecoming weekend, which is coming back into full swing after two years of cancellations and modifications due to COVID-19, will have new emphasis on community engagement, Miller said.

“Homecoming is just a chance to welcome everyone home and to bring generations of Rams back together,” Miller said. “It’s really a chance to showcase all of CSU’s growth but at the same time the tradition and the roots and the history that always stays the same.”

CSU’s first Homecoming took place in 1914, dubbed an “alumni reunion” by then-President Charles A. Lory. Since then, certain traditions like the football game, the lighting of the A, bonfires and notable alumni acknowledgment have been added to the annual lineup of events.

 “People will come back after two decades, and there will be a lot that’s changed, but there’s also so much that stays the same. I think that’s what’s really special about this place.” –Amy Jo Miller, CSU Alumni Association director of marketing and communications

Miller and the Alumni Association are hoping the Homecoming & Family Weekend Kickoff will become one of the mainstay events the community will have to look forward to every year.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity to bring together Rams from all walks of life and be able to reengage the Ram Pride and the green and gold community that comes with everything that homecoming is about,” Miller said. “I think this event specifically is just a really easy, low-key way (to) kick things off; it’s going to have that quintessential CSU down-home feeling.”

Canvas Stadium, which was constructed in 2017 and houses the Iris & Michael Smith Alumni Center and the Old Main bell, has become a centerpiece for alumni activities. Miller hopes the kickoff event will allow students and families to engage with Canvas Stadium in a more up-close-and-personal way.

“I think that unless you’re directly involved with athletics, this kind of access isn’t always available,” Miller said. “We’re excited to offer that opportunity for people to come out and get down on the field.”

Ultimately, Miller and the Alumni Association hope the Homecoming & Family Weekend Kickoff will continue to enhance campus traditions and unite generations of both former and current Rams and their families.

“People will come back after two decades, and there will be a lot that’s changed, but there’s also so much that stays the same,” Miller said. “I think that’s what’s really special about this place.”

Reach Allie Seibel at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @allie_seibel_.