BYU’s 2012 Homecoming celebration will highlight the venerable Karl G. Maeser Building, dedicated 100 years ago, and will be crammed with festivities, from hikes to lectures and from races to dances, culminating with the BYU vs. Oregon State football game Oct. 13.

Homecoming Spectacular, scheduled Oct. 11 and 12 in the Marriott Center, will build its show around the Maeser Building in a lively concert featuring six of BYU’s premier performing groups: the Ballroom Dance Company, Cougarettes, Contemporary Dance Theatre, Synthesis, Vocal Point, and Young Ambassadors.

“We are celebrating the Maeser Building’s heritage along with the visions and dreams that have been fulfilled since the building was dedicated in 1912,” says Janielle Hildebrandt Christensen (BA ’67), the show’s artistic director. Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m., and tickets will be available Sept. 10 at at BYUtickets.com.

View the 2012 Homecoming calendar at homecoming.byu.edu.

2012 Homecoming Reunions

Homecoming reunions will offer participants a chance to relive the parties, performances, food, and football of their BYU days. The following groups will reunite the second week in October:

1962 (50-year)

1972 (40-year)

1977 (35-year)

1987 (25-year)

Former Student Officers Society

For details and registration, visit reunions.byu.edu.

Write about the Maeser

As part of Homecoming each year, full-time students are invited to learn about a past leader by participating in the George H. Brimhall Memorial Essay Contest. This year offers a twist, however: BYU will honor the legacy of a building instead of a person. The 2012 contest will focus on the iconic Karl G. Maeser Building, which turns 100 years old this year.

The awards for the contest—from $1,500 for first place to $300 for honorable mentions—are funded by the family of George H. Brimhall (ND 1877), an early president of BYU. Entries should be about 750 words long and center on the 2012 Homecoming theme, Of Pillars and Cornerstones. They should also contain personal reflection and insights about the building and people with significant ties to the building.

Entries are due Sept. 27 by 3 p.m. to studentalumni.byu.edu. Those interested in entering the contest are welcome to attend a workshop with a contest judge on Sept. 4 at noon or Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. in the Hinckley Center east conference room.

Access the contest rules, application form, and Maeser Building bibliography at studentalumni.byu.edu.