Hesston College’s Centennial Thanksgiving Family Celebration starts with Thanksgiving dinner Thursday evening-a full dinner with turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pasta salad, cottage cheese, cranberry gelatin, seven layer salad, green beans, corn, rice, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie, served by the college’s Food Service.

The dinner is a decades old Hesston College tradition and a way for the college to welcome families of current students as well as prospective students and their families to campus for a weekend filled with activities and events, a weekend which is quiet on most college campuses.

“Thanksgiving is a wonderful time on our campus,” commented President Howard Keim. “It’s a time to connect with families and friends, to thank God for the many blessings we experience every day, and to celebrate our students many talents that we can experience through performances in the concert hall or theater and on the basketball court, too.”

The weekend’s signature event takes place after dinner when the college’s Chorale and Bel Canto Singers and faculty soloists join with community singers and an orchestra to present a Centennial Masterworks Concert. Music faculty member Bradley Kauffman will direct Mendelssohn’s Lauda Sion and works by Howells and Mulholland. The 8 p.m. concert in Hesston Mennonite Church is free and open to the public. An offering will be taken to support the college’s student emergency fund.

Later that evening campus guests will return to Hesston Mennonite Church for the college’s annual talent show.

Friday, November 27, begins with a breakfast for parents of current and prospective students hosted by the college’s Student Life department followed by the 18th annual Hesston College Thanksgiving Run-the Howard Hustle 2-mile run/walk – 100 years and still running. Planned by students in the college’s Recreation Leadership class, the run takes participants on a scenic tour through and around campus. Race day registration is from 9 to 10:45 a.m. on the lawn near Bontrager Student Center for the 11 a.m. race.

The weekend includes a variety of events for prospective students. Those interested in studying music or theatre will participate in scholarship auditions Friday morning. The college will offer a mini college-several instructors will present lectures Friday afternoon so students can experience Hesston College courses even though courses are not in session. Hesston College coaches have planned practices, tournaments, or scrimmages for prospective men’s and women’s soccer players, softball players, and volleyball players.

The community will gather Friday afternoon for a Music department concert (2:30 p.m., Hesston Mennonite Church), for a book signing with author John E. Sharp, author of A School on the Prairie, A Centennial History of Hesston College 1909-2009 (3:30-5 p.m., Hesston College Bookstore), and to dedicate an encaustic painting donated to the college by artist Phillip Hershberger and his wife, Diana (4 p.m., Smith Center).

The college’s Theatre and Music departments will offer two performances of Forever Plaid -7 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday in Northlawn’s Studio Theatre. Tickets are $11 for adults, $9 for students and senior citizens. Call 620-328-8105 or visit the bookstore’s website to purchase.

The Athletic department will host the Greg Raleigh Agency/American Family Insurance Thanksgiving Men’s and Women’s Basketball Classic Friday and Saturday. On the women’s side the games include Brown Mackie College vs. Northern Oklahoma College-Enid (2 p.m., Friday); Hesston College vs. Colorado Christian University (6 p.m., Friday); Brown Mackie vs. Colorado Christian (2 p.m., Saturday); and Hesston vs. Northern Oklahoma-Enid (6 p.m., Saturday).

On the men’s side the games include Brown Mackie College vs. Labette Community College (4 p.m., Friday); Hesston College vs. Northern Oklahoma College-Enid (8 p.m., Friday); Brown Mackie vs. Northern Oklahoma-Enid (4 p.m., Saturday); and Hesston vs. Labette (8 p.m., Saturday).

To mark the college’s centennial, the weekend schedule includes a walking tour of historic and current faculty and staff homes adjacent to campus. Brochures for the self-guided tour will be available at the registration center in the Erb Hall Larks Nest.

This year the college’s celebration coincides with events marking Hesston Mennonite Church’s centennial.