The game will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. at Ron Joyce Stadium. Photo Credit: McMaster Marauders/X.
McMaster University homecoming events kick off this weekend, with officials hoping that the return of official on-campus festivities will help to curb past instances of unsanctioned street parties.
The McMaster Students Union (MSU) and McMaster Student Affairs announced in August 2024 that they would be reintroducing on-campus homecoming events to accompany the annual homecoming football game.
The game itself will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. at Ron Joyce Stadium against the Western University Mustangs.
Newly introduced events for students on campus will include Monster, which is reportedly “the world’s largest inflatable obstacle course” and a foam party.
There will also be stilt walkers, face painters, magicians, food trucks, vendors, promotional tents, a mobile mocktail bar, and free giveaways.
The day will conclude with an evening concert from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. featuring Canadian-born DJ duo Loud Luxury and American rapper Lil Tecca.
The concert is a closed-campus show, with McMaster student ID and a ticket required for entry.
MSU President and CEO Jovan Popovic says that bringing back on-campus homecoming events is “a way to reclaim what we lost during the pandemic and rebuild a campus culture that’s essential for student success.”
In regard to sporting events, in addition to the football game, McMaster’s women’s soccer team plays Guelph at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4 at Ron Joyce Stadium, followed by a men’s soccer match against Guelph at 8:15 p.m.
At 7 p.m. that same night, the McMaster women’s basketball team plays an exhibition game against the University of British Columbia.
The move to reintroduce on-campus events follows a number of concerning street parties over the past few years.
In 2021, an unsanctioned homecoming event near McMaster University resulted in a flipped car, unsafe conditions, and destruction of property.
Other activities included the obstruction of traffic, disorderly conduct, excessive noise, and the unsafe launch of fireworks.
In 2022, proactive preparation by the City of Hamilton, Hamilton Police Services, and McMaster University resulted in no major incidents.
But in 2023, a gathering of about 8,000 to 9,000 people in the Westdale and Ainslie Woods neighbourhoods resulted in five arrests, 49 calls for service, and 10 provincial offence notices.
Still, at the time, Hamilton Police Superintendent Dave Hennick declared the weekend a victory as far as community safety is concerned, saying that the city, McMaster University, and first responders “mitigated the adverse effects” of the gathering.
The repeated street parties even led the City of Hamilton to enact a special Nuisance Party By-Law (By-Law 22-235) under which Hamilton Police can issue an order for large gatherings to disperse, and party hosts or attendees can face fines of up to $10,000 for a first offence or up to $25,000 in fines for multiple offences.
All 2024 homecoming-related information can be found online at www.mcmasterhomecoming.com
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
