From medallion hunts to voting for royalty, football games to lengthly parades, NDSU’s Homecoming week is jam-packed with events that celebrate the return of the student body.
Just like we can’t imagine Homecoming without cheering on the green and gold, it would be equally as odd not having Blue Key Honor Society’s annual Homecoming Show.
For the past 41 years, Blue Key has been bringing students together on Homecoming for a talent and comedy skit show, all while raising money for a good cause.
“I think what’s unique is that the first part of the show is this goofy, fun skit,” said Kalley Norr, a member of Blue Key and co-coordinator of this year’s Homecoming Show. “It is really fun to see all these groups come together and perform and see what they come up with. They are very, very creative. Unbelievably creative. We know one of the groups is having three hour practices. Every night they’re doing something. The amount of effort they put into it is super fun.”
The first half of the show features skits from student organizations. The second half is the coronation of the Homecoming King and Queen, run by Campus Attractions.
Scattered throughout the entire show is a continuous skit from Blue Key itself. This year, Blue Key’s theme is “The Bison King,” a play on Disney’s original animated movie, “The Lion King.”
“Once you get a group of students together and say, ‘Hey, we should come up with a theme,’ it gets crazy,” Norr said. “We narrowed it down to something students could use to make skits and something more family-friendly. Something that would be easier to write a script for. Disney’s always the best route to go with that.”
Norr explained that the theme of the show will be to find “Bison Pride Rock,” or the Dakota Marker. Key features from the Disney classic will be referenced, including characters. A special appearance will be made by Timothy Alvarez, the vice president of Student Affairs, as Simba’s father Mufasa.
While hilarity will definitely ensue, the main purpose of the Homecoming Show is to raise money for a local charity. This year, Blue Key chose Family HealthCare Pharmacy.
“We pick a local nonprofit in the area, because we want any money that we raise to stay local so we can see the impact it makes,” Jesstin Krech, a member of Blue Key and co-coordinator of the Homecoming Show, said. “How it kind of works is, we leave it up to the members of Blue Key. Each member has an opportunity to bring up an organization that they think would be a good fit for it. We discuss it and vote on it. This year, Family HealthCare was a strong winner.”
Norr continued, saying, “A big reason that we went with them this year is that we know that the fund we’re supporting is incredibly low. It’s a fund that, if clients come in and they don’t have money for their prescriptions, that fund covers those prescriptions for them. The fund was created by a group similar to us about eight years ago. They don’t really ask for money ever. They rely on grants and doing a lot of research. When that fund does get very low, they ask their pharmacists and doctors if they can withhold their paychecks so they can pay for their clients’ medication.”
Family HealthCare also provides NDSU pharmacy students the opportunity to complete their rotations and credits before graduation.
“We thought that, if we can make a difference, they’re definitely deserving of any support. We’re super excited that we’ll be able to help out,” Norr said.
In addition to ticket sales going to Family HealthCare, for each vote for Homecoming King and Queen, Gate City Bank will donate an additional dollar to the pharmacy’s fund.
At the end of the show, audience members will get the opportunity to vote for their favorite act. This year, the judges will be Matt Skoy, associate director of Student Activities; a representative from Gate City Bank; and a representative from Family HealthCare Pharmacy. The fourth judge is yet to be announced.
“Not only are you supporting a local, great cause,” Krech said, “Homecoming can be a busy time, I know my first round of tests and papers are coming up. It’s a good light-hearted break.”
Blue Key is a charitable honor society comprised of 35 students. They have many events throughout the school year, but the major ones are the Homecoming Show and the Bison Brevities show in the spring. For information about the organization and to see events, go to their Facebook page.
For more information on Family HealthCare Pharmacy, visit their website.
Tickets for the Homecoming Show are currently on sale for $5 in the Memorial Union and will be available before the show.