SNC Day Marks its Fifth Year

A crisp fall Saturday offers many options for diversion. You could go for a run or catch some college football. You might even be thinking about trying one of those Segway tours you’ve heard about. If it’s warm, you could hang out by the water, take in some live music, and grab some ice cream in the afternoon.

Sometimes there’s so much going on that it’s hard to choose what to do. Lucky for you, St. Norbert has you covered! You can do all this and more at SNC Day on Saturday, Sept. 21.

This campus open house, coinciding with Family Weekend, will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It gathers current students, visiting family members, faculty, staff, community members and alumni to celebrate the founding values of the Norbertines.

SNC Day has grown in each of its five years. In 2012 the college hosted some 20,000 people at this daylong event, with more expected this year, according to SNC Day organizer Amy Sorenson (Office of the President). To pull it off, more than 200 faculty, staff and students volunteer, “making sure that all who visit experience radical hospitality and communio,” Sorenson says.

You can revisit your student days by attending mini-lectures on special topics presented by members of the college faculty. Alums can also reunite with visiting classmates and share tales of college life over Zesty’s custard in the Alumni Tent.

If it’s been a while since you’ve been to campus, you’ll notice a lot of changes, particularly if you take an SNC Day tour. At Dudley Birder Hall – formerly St. Boniface Church and the college bookstore – you can enjoy the acoustics as Knights on Broadway and the Sawdust Symphony take to the stage. At the Cassandra Voss Center – the new home of the women’s and gender studies discipline, Women’s Center and Men’s Initiative – you’ll experience the Midwest launch of GoldieBlox, a new engineering toy designed with young girls particularly in mind. And in the Mulva Library’s innovative lower-level Mulva Studio, you’ll see cutting-edge technology that sets the tone for 21st-century learning. 

If you’re in the mood for competition, you can take part in the second annual Don Schneider Memorial 5K Challenge Run at 9 a.m. or catch the Green Knights football team taking on the Red Hawks of Ripon College at 1 p.m. You’ll find music, food and fun across campus. Beyond Dudley Birder Hall, two stages will host live performances by the likes of Boogie and the Yo-Yo’z, Frogwater, Unity the Band and more. Tastes from around town, as well as from our own Chef Dan Froelich, will keep you satisfied. Kids will find plenty to entertain them, too, including face painting, balloon animals and giant inflatables. 

If your feet need a rest, you can enjoy free boat rides along the Fox River, horse-drawn carriage rides around campus and trolley transport to and from Schneider Stadium. Or, for a whole new way to explore campus, take a Segway tour across the Claude Allouez Bridge and past the college’s historic and newest buildings with your tour guide. (It’s an SNC Day bargain, offered at the special price of $10 per 20-minute ride.)

More than 100 exhibitors will include college organizations, local artisans and businesses, musical performers, restaurants and more. While you browse and shop, you’ll learn what’s available both on campus and in the community.

SNC Day is free and open to the public. Registration for the Don Schneider Memorial 5K Challenge Run is $15; proceeds benefit the Don Schneider Memorial Scholarship. A full schedule of SNC Day activities and vendors is available on the SNC Day website.


Sept. 3, 2013