GROSSMONT COLLEGE TO HOST FREE OPEN HOUSE, SOCK HOP AND MORE APRIL 13-14
April 3, 2012 (El Cajon) -- A 50-year anniversary doesn’t happen every day, so Grossmont College will celebrate its golden moment in history with a blowout weekend of free events for the community to enjoy April 13 and 14 at the El Cajon campus.
Music lovers, foodies, dancers, amateur scientists, artists, CSI fans, poets, fitness and health devotees, theater lovers, techies, gamers, math whizzes – there’s something for everyone.
Featuring an old-fashioned Sock Hop dance, a dozen gourmet food trucks, cooking classes, a dedication ceremony for the college’s two newest high-tech buildings, and even the opportunity to join in an attempt to set a new world record, the two days will be jam-packed with events celebrating the college’s half-century of academic excellence in the East County.
“Our faculty and staff are opening our doors and inviting local residents to take advantage of the incredible resources that are available in their backyard,” said Grossmont College President Sunny Cooke. “We’re hosting a fun-filled, family-oriented festival that will appeal to the community like never before.”
Dubbed “A 50-year Spectacular,” the celebration kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the college’s Main Quad with student musical performances until 7:30 p.m. of the gospel choir, jazz ensemble and Afro-Cuban ensemble.
A Sock Hop dance at 7:30 p.m. will cap Friday’s celebration with Footloose, a live classic oldies band in the Main Gym for all ages. Free dance lessons in a classroom near the Main Gym will have you doing the twist, the swim and the mashed potato in no time to show off at the Sock Hop.
Among Saturday’s events: a 9:30 a.m. dedication ceremony for Grossmont’s Griffin Center, the college’s remodeled student center, and the Student Services and Administration building; a Department Fair from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and from 12:30 to 2 p.m.; classic vintage cars on display; and a Guinness World’s Record attempt at noon in the Main Quad with free T-shirts for joining in. Enjoy the savory fare of a dozen gourmet food trucks from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the celebration will end.
The Department Fair will feature the latest educational innovations and technologies of Grossmont’s departments and disciplines, including theater arts, music, health professions, culinary arts, math and English, administration of justice, and exercise science. Here’s a sample of what’s on tap:
- Create your own video game; dissect a sheep brain; make your own lip balm, lipstick, super bouncy balls and ceramics artwork; draw or paint either digitally or with paints and pencils; compete in a mathematics “Wheel of Fortune” game; tour a mock indoor crime scene, blood-spatter room and bullet trajectory demonstration; tour the college’s TV studios, digital audio recording studio and college radio station; or take a compass traverse and GPS scavenger hunt;
- Watch student drama performances and tour the college’s performing arts theater; preview a dance concert staring students; watch Arabic dancing; see a demonstration of a rooftop telescope; learn job-hunting techniques at the Career Center; get tips on enrolling in college, financial aid and transferring to a four-year university and making college affordable;
- Perform CPR on a mannequin; get an arm or finger cast, view one’s oral bacteria under a microscope; use collage and cut-ups to create a “Zine,” or homemade magazine and learn new techniques using popular software; get tips on baking with chocolate and vegetable and fruit carving from award-winning chefs with the Culinary Arts department;
- Attend youth sports clinics led by college coaches on football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis and softball; get a free body mass index reading at the Student Health Services office and a demonstration of an ultrasound echo machine from the cardiovascular technology program; learn about stroke risk, heart attacks, breast and skin cancer prevention, poison prevention, cholesterol and blood pressure control, and get fall-prevention tips at a health promotion fair;
- Get a souvenir snapshot taken from the Photography Department of yourself in accessories from the college’s Theatre Arts Costume Shop; combine a golf-cart ride across the campus with a math quiz from the Math Department (an incorrect answer means the ride is over); enjoy children’s books and games from the 1960s; compete in Grossmont’s first-ever Poetry Slam hosted by the English Department; be part of a “Tell Us Your Grossmont Story” history department video; see student displays of jewelry (copper, brass) and three-dimensional design art pieces in cardboard, wire, clay, plaster and masking tape.
Other presentation topics include popular software programs, computers that read to you and how your brain’s memory works, as well as presentations about art history, classical philosophy, Buddhism and Islam, the pre-Inca people of Bolivia, student readings of classical philosophy and a professional storyteller in the library.
A complete schedule of events can be found at www.grossmont.edu/50years. No child care will be available. Grossmont College is located at 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon. For driving directions and a campus map, visit www.grossmont.edu.