The dedication of the beautiful new Joel H. Wiens Stadium will be the highlight event when Tabor College celebrates its annual Homecoming festivities, from Oct. 7-11.

?Journey Worth the Taking,? is the theme for this year?s event, and Tabor College President Jules Glanzer is looking forward to seeing everyone who making the trip back to Hillsboro.

?It?s so awesome to see our alumni return to campus,? Glanzer said. ?I love to hear their stories and learn about the impact Tabor has had on them. It?s always exciting.?

The highlight event, the stadium dedication, will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, prior to the football game.

Among the dignitaries invited to participate in the ceremony is Joel H. Wiens, the Wyoming businessman who contributed $1 million toward the project, the largest donation in school history, and for whom the new stadium is named.

?The people who come back for homecoming will be so surprised and impressed with the addition of the new stadium and athletic center,? Glanzer added. ?It is the crown jewel of the KCAC Conference, and it adds a dimension of excellence to our campus.?

In addition to the stadium dedication, this year?s Homecoming festivities include:

n Lots to eat?at the festival dinner, Dutch lunch buffet, barbecue supper, reunion tailgaters, and the popular Sunday buffet dinner.

n Lots to see?at the student art show, centennial quilt auction, Learning in Retirement program, Alumni & Faculty Book Nook, homecoming music festival and the homecoming musical, ?Children of Eden.?

n Lots to do: at the Festival Golf Classic, at the 2 Mile and 5K fun run, and alumni tennis, baseball and men?s soccer games.

n Lots to cheer about?at the varsity volleyball match versus Southern Nazarene, football game versus Ottawa University, and men?s and women?s soccer matches versus Bethany College.

For details about any of these activities, go to the college Web site at tabor.edu.

A plant roster and other fun facts about the new stadium

n The landscaping project includes the following roster of plants: 108 trees, 113 shrubs, 149 grasses and perennials for a total of 370 plants.

n The track has extended straights on both sides.

n There are six long-jump pits, which will allow for four long jump/triple jump competitions going on at the same time.

n One of the shot put areas allows three throwers at the same time.

n All field events are set up for bi-directional approaches to take advantage of either a north or south wind.

n More than 500 man hours of labor have been volunteered to the project so far.

n The markings on the field are not painted on. They are all glued in.

n The total seating capacity is 3,100.

n The new parking lot allows for 165 vechicles.

n A red track was chosen because it looks better than black, and those are the only two colors that sustain sunlight well without fading.

n The 50-50 ownership partnership between Tabor College and USD 410 is believed to be unprecedented.

n The only significant maintenance required on the field is to sweep and brush it once a week during the football/soccer season.

n The rubber on the field is on top of the carpet.

n The rubber on the track is a three-coat process called a sandwich system.

n The majority of the sub-contractors for the project were from Marion County.

n The first touchdown scored on the new field was by Hillsboro seventh-grader Justus Hilliard.

n The first soccer goal scored on the field was by Lin Yan of Oklahoma Baptist University. Tabor College?s first soccer goal on the new field was scored by Jessica Burden.

n There is a drain for flushing the water tower that runs under the new parking lot.

n The football goal posts are adjustable to meet college and high school standards.