Nostalgia and excitement filled the air as more than 6,000 spirited Blue Hens from across the country returned to the University of Delaware’s Newark campus to participate in the eighth annual Alumni Weekend June 3-5. This year’s festivities offered a myriad of events for alumni to recount past memories while creating new ones with their families and friends.

At Engineering You Can Eat, hosted by the College of Engineering on Saturday morning, dozens of future Blue Hens and their alumni parents made candy by straining drops of chocolate and honey solutions into calcium chlorite, creating the little balls often found in bubble tea.

“Nothing gives me as much joy as watching future engineers,” said Dean Babatunde Ogunnaike.

For eight-year-old science lover Reese Bauer, daughter of Michele Bauer from the Class of 2000, the fun was all in the process. She laughed at her shapes and happily popped them in her mouth.  Reese’s next stops with mom and older sister Peyton included eating brunch with UD’s mascots, meeting underwater robots and learning about beekeeping.

At Brunch with the Mascots, the Caesar Rodney Dining Hall was bedecked with balloons and entertainers, giving many alumni and their families a firsthand look at the new facility. In addition to the food, the sold-out event included face-painters, a prop-filled photo booth, hat trick magicians, balloon animal artists and famous UD mascots, YoUDee and Baby Blue.

“It’s great how alumni events are becoming more family-friendly,” said Kerry Halbedl, from the Class of 2002, as she seated her two children at a table in the dining hall.

Across campus, the aroma of potato pancakes filled the Kristol Center for Jewish Life and greeted alumni who had returned to connect with students and catch up on Jewish life at UD. “They say it’s just like coming home,” said Donna Schwartz, Hillel’s executive director. That same sentiment resonated at many of the affinity meetups that spanned the weekend, including events held for former student-athletes and resident assistants to Student Alumni Ambassadors and writers from The Review, UD’s student-run newspaper.

Other Blue Hens headed to the Little Bob (Carpenter Sports Building) with their families to learn all about undersea robotics in an interactive event led by the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Alumna Tami Lunsford, from the Class of 1998, was there with her husband and two sons. “We come to Alumni Weekend every year. We came to this event because my kids love robots.” Afterward, Hutchison and her family planned to visit the UDairy Creamery on South Campus.

Across the street from the Creamery in the Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus Atrium, alumni gathered to celebrate the School of Nursing’s 50th anniversary with a film screening of The American Nurse. Returning to campus for the first time in three decades, alumna Lynnette McFadden, from the Class of 1983, joined with five other alumnae to support her college roommate, who was honored the previous night as one of 50 Stars of the School. “It’s really cool to see all of the development and new buildings,” McFadden said.

Like McFadden, alumna Michele Savin, from the Class of 1988, along with husband Frank, enjoyed seeing what has changed over the years. Michelle Savin, a nurse practitioner at Christiana Care, was also one of the 50 Stars honored Friday by the School of Nursing. “My 50th birthday was this month, so it’s a bit surreal to think the school and I are both turning 50.”

The event-packed weekend included a host of other social events, college receptions and class reunions, and concluded on Sunday as more than 200 runners and walkers lined up on Laird campus for the Blue Hen 5K Walk/Run.

This year, the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics broke the College of Arts and Sciences’ four-year winning streak by taking home the coveted President’s Cup for having the highest percentage of alumni participants. However, it was the enthusiastic children decked out in body paint who stole the show – and hearts – of alumni who looked on with excitement and beamed with pride as their children and possible future Blue Hens raced toward the Kids Fun Run finish line together.

"Bringing your family to Alumni Weekend is really about cultivating a legacy," said Anne Giacoma Barretta, from the Class of 1983 and president of the University of Delaware Alumni Association. Baretta attended a variety of events over the weekend, including Dela-bration on the North Green Friday night and ice skating with U.S. National Champions at the Gold Ice Arena Saturday afternoon. "Once you become a Blue Hen, you're a Blue Hen for life."

All Blue Hens are encouraged to mark their calendar for next year’s Alumni Weekend which will take place from June 2-4.