Homecoming 2017: All-Alumni Tent Crawl a Pleasant Addition to Event Line-Up

Rain didn’t stop the first Mary Baldwin All-Alumni Homecoming Tent Crawl from being a memorable and enjoyable experience. The event — which was held in both the Student Activities Center and the University Café due to weather — was deemed a success by various alumni across class years.

“It’s good to be back,” Courtney Waugh ’12 said of the weekend and the event as she sat at a table with peers from her graduating class, reminiscing and conversing as if no time had passed at all.

Alumni indulged in sushi, local beef sliders, and several local wines, including the Mary Baldwin 175th anniversary wines from Barren Ridge Vineyards. A chocolate fountain with a variety of fruit and ice cream was also served in the University Café.

Classmates Frances Mallison and Peggy Barnes celebrated their 50th graduation anniversary during the

Mary Baldwin University reunion, Saturday April 22, 2017. (Photo by Norm Shafer).

weekend and have attended every reunion they can remember since their graduation.

“I really like the tent crawl because it is nice to not have to find a restaurant,” Mallison said. “We get to talk to more people this way, and make more connections.”

Baldwin Online and Adult alumna Denise Robinson Moody ’06 has attended three reunions since her graduation from MBU and found the tent crawl to be a great addition to the weekend and noted that the“food was on point.”

Many alumni had attended the Grand Re-Opening and Dedication of the Alumnae House earlier in the evening, and used words like “beautiful” and “stunning” to describe the improvements.

Renovations have included new roofing and updated woodwork on the porch and front steps, along with restoration of the living room and dining room on the first floor of the house to the original pre-1984 configuration. A modern catering kitchen is also available now along with two handicap accessible restrooms, in addition to more storage space. The upstairs bedrooms have been renovated, and Mary Julia Baldwin’s restored bed was placed in one of the guest rooms.

Janaan Hashim ’89, who often comes back to Mary Baldwin as a member of the Alumni Board of Directors, said the weekend gave her hope for Baldwin’s future.

“I attended the Alumnae House Dedication and Re-Opening and it felt like the campus did when I attended in the 80s,” Hashim said. “The house holds itself with a dignity that the buildings on this hill of ours carry — this alive look — and I am excited to see that trend flourish as renovations across campus continue.”

Hashim added that she was pleasantly surprised with the reactions she was seeing from other attendees at the Tent Crawl.

“The vibe is so positive this weekend, and I chalk that up to the sisterhood that is formed over the four years that we attended MBU,” Hashim said.