Augustana University is excited to announce that it will be celebrating the best week of the year — Viking Days 2022 — on Oct. 10-16. During Augustana’s homecoming, current and past Vikings come together for a week of festivities to celebrate all things blue and gold.
Viking Days 2022 festivities kicked off on Monday, Oct. 10, with a student event on the Morrison Commons patio and campus green. In partnership with Kids Against Hunger, students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to take part in a day of service on Tuesday, Oct. 11, in the Back Alley in the Morrison Commons for a meal packing event. All Augustana students, faculty, staff and retirees will join in a celebratory meal together in the Elmen Center on Wednesday evening. The crowning of the 2022 Viking Days Royals will take place following the Viking Feast at 7 p.m. Float building will commence in the Fryxell Humanities Center parking lot on Thursday afternoon into the evening, with the Viking Days Parade on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 10:30 a.m., tailgate at 11 a.m., and Viking Football vs. Wayne State at Kirkeby-Over Stadium at 1 p.m. Viking Days worship will conclude the festivities on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 10 a.m., in the Chapel of Reconciliation.
“We are thrilled to welcome alumni, parents and friends from near and far back to campus for Viking Days 2022. With the energy and excitement of our students and new and old connections to be made, there is truly no better time to be on campus,” said Director of Alumni Engagement Sara Waldner ‘19.
This year, the Augustana Class of 1972 will celebrate its 50th Reunion with a variety of activities. An all-alumni gathering — Vikings Reunite — will take place on Oct. 15, at R Wine Bar and Queen City Bakery in downtown Sioux Falls, featuring jazz music from students, faculty and alumni throughout the evening. The Eide/Dalrymple Gallery on Augustana’s campus will feature the “Augustana Alumni Decade Show,” a special exhibit during Viking Days, showcasing art pieces of alumni from the last decade with a gallery reception on Friday.
A favorite tradition of many alumni is to visit their former mailbox while back on campus for Viking Days. Alumni have even been known to leave notes and/or gifts for current Augustana students. In recent years, alumni have had the opportunity to send a Viking Days postcard to current Vikings with words of encouragement, a special memory or just a friendly greeting, which will land in students’ mailboxes on Oct. 11.
For information on all things Viking Days, visit augie.edu/VikingDays. View the full Viking Days 2022 schedule.
About the History of Viking Days
Homecoming at Augustana is one of the university’s longest-standing traditions, with the first celebration dating back to Oct. 24, 1924 — six years after Augustana College in Canton, South Dakota, moved to Sioux Falls, and two years after the name, Vikings, was adopted and the colors, blue and gold, were chosen. At the time, Rev. Dr. Charles Orin Solberg was president. Augustana’s homecoming officially became known as “Viking Days” in 1929.
Original source can be found here