Reunions Guide 2015: Plans for the major-reunion classes

Compiled by Morgan B. Nelson ’15

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The Class of 1950

The class will occupy a large tent behind Forbes for our final independent reunion before joining the Old Guard. Once again we’ll have a memorial service at Forbes Friday afternoon. Our entertainment will be the Trenton Ancient Order of Hibernians Pipe Band at lunch on Saturday and in the P-rade, as in the past. We also will have a “family” appearance by the Tigerlilies. One of our classmates is the grandfather of a Tigerlily, and that singers’ mother, also a Princetonian, will be with us for the full reunion, too.

All that being said, our main entertainment is swapping war stories with each other.

The Class of 1955

The Class of 1955 will be headquartered in Princeton Stadium, with Jim Freund ’56 entertaining us on Thursday night. Friday we have our own Stan Rubin and his orchestra, and on Saturday we have the Blawenburg Dixieland Band. All dinners will be at headquarters.

We are having two tours for the enjoyment of classmates. Friday morning there will be a tour of the new campus, starting at the Lewis Library and going west towards the Lewis Center for the Arts. Friday afternoon classmate Lee Neuwirth will lead us on a tour of the old campus buildings focusing on their gargoyles. Friday evening there will be a reception and visual memorial of lost classmates at the Lewis Library.

We close with brunch Sunday at the Boathouse.

The Class of 1960

The Class of 1960’s motto for our 55th reunion is “ dum vivimus vivamus ,” which (of course) means “while we are alive, let’s live.” Our theme, recalling our groundbreaking mini-reunion in Cuba in 2012, is Caribbean and this will be featured at our headquarters and in our P-rade decor.

We kick off the weekend on Thursday with dinner. Our entertainment will be, for obvious reasons, weighted toward older music, with Tom Artin, Ivory Jim Hunter ’62, and our longtime DJ Joe Cool over the three nights.

Our class picture and memorial service will take place Friday, with our class dinner that evening. Saturday will feature the P-rade, where we hope to win our own “Best Costume” award with our spectacular Jungle Tiger jackets. The weekend closes with a farewell brunch on Sunday.

The Class of 1965

The Great Class of 1965 promises another fantastic Reunion experience for classmates, family, friends, and all Tigers. Visit us in our headquarters at Blair-Joline courtyard. Our theme remains “The Sounds of ’65,” and this year we have added “Rockin’ On” in honor of our 50th reunion. Our awe-inspiring backup-group tuxedos make their 26th appearance at Reunions, you will know us when you see us.

Thursday night we will ease into Reunions with a jazz trio before we begin to rock and roll to Liquid Pleasure on Friday. On Saturday we rock out to Satisfaction — Rolling Stones and Masters of Soul.

The class will have a memorial service in the Chapel to honor all deceased classmates at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

The class has teamed up with its “progeny classes” — 1990 and 2015 — to sponsor this year’s charitable Princeton University Reunions Run or PURR. Please join in this fun event on Saturday morning. 

The Class of 1970

The 17-year-cicada Class of 1970 celebrates its 45th reunion with the silver-anniversary P-rade appearance of the world-famous ’70-Pede. Creatively designed to help keep all the little ’70 children moving along the P-rade route at the class’s 20th reunion, the ’70-Pede has become the beloved centerpiece of the class’s enduring “bug” theme, which carries right down to the insect detailing on the Princeton shields of the reunion jackets. It is rumored that honorary classmate Gov. Jonathan Belcher h’1748 h’70, Princeton’s first benefactor, will make a posthumous P-rade appearance as well.

Princeton’s first undergraduate class to include women graduates is looking forward to having every one of its surviving women classmates return for this reunion! Showcasing the depth and breadth of 1970, classmates will appear on 13 of the 20 Alumni-Faculty Forum panels — more than any other class.

Music from two great ’60s rock bands, The Fabulous Greaseband and Big Ray & The Kool Kats, will help the class relive its youth on Friday and Saturday nights, while Reunions officially begin with a quiet reception and dinner at the Art Museum, following Thursday golf outing and Center for Sculpture events. Princeton’s newest a cappella group, the Singing Cicadas, comprised of ’70 alums of various singing groups, will also entertain the class.

The Class of 1975

Like Saturday Night Live , the Class of ’75 also is celebrating its 40th, and this has inspired our theme — “Live from New Jersey… IT’S SEVENTY-FIVE!” Headquartered in Dod-McCormick Courtyard, festivities begin Thursday evening with dinner at the Boathouse and the music of The British Invasion Tribute. Friday brings a class memorial service at 1 p.m. in the Chapel, an open-mic session at our site in the afternoon, and a reception and class dinner in the gorgeous new Frick Chemistry Laboratory atrium. The women of the class will gather for breakfast Saturday morning before joining the men for a class photo at 1 p.m., the P-rade, and a fabulous Brazilian barbecue dinner.

Our community-service project purchases school supplies to be used by University student volunteers with GetSET, an after-school program in Trenton.

The Class of 1980

The Class of 1980 is celebrating its 35th reunion with the theme, “Around the World in 80 Ways.” Leading up to the reunion, our Traveling Tiger has been photographed around the globe, with the photos collected in a Facebook album and on the class website.

Each meal will have an international cuisine and wine pairing — Italian, Asian, French, Mexican, and South American. Our class dinner is Friday night at the Boathouse. Entertainment will include performances by classmates who are professional musicians and entertainers on Thursday night. Our classmate Steve Wexler and The Top Shelf, featuring amazing vocalists, a full horn section and a high-energy, Motown-infused sound, will perform on Friday night. Saturday’s band, Stereo Junkies, will play a mix of rock, pop, and hip-hop hits from the ’50s through today.

For community service, we are asking all classmates to bring back their loose change from around the world (bills accepted as well!). We will donate the money to UNICEF. We also are joining the 25th reunion meal-packing project. We are putting together a class panel on globalization in the age of digitization, and will have an art show of classmates’ original work, open to all Reunions attendees.

The Class of 1985

The Class of 1985’s 30th reunion — “85 UNITED” — is a celebration of class unity (and a common professional soccer team name) at this time when we are older and wiser and psyched for Reunions! Our costume is an authentic, custom-designed soccer “kit” — jersey and shorts — emblazoned with our Charging Tiger 30th Reunion logo and made by the apparel company to the pro teams, Lotto.

The Class of ’85 inaugurated the Princeton University Reunion Run (PURR) at our 25th reunion. PURR is a 5K run/walk on the University cross-country course that is a fundraiser for our community-service project. We are PURRing again this year and encourage all to participate in support of Kids Against Hunger. Day-of-race registrants at the playing fields alongside Washington Road are welcome.

Reunions activities for the under-18 set will range from soccer scrimmages and Outdoor Action activities to “indoor reactions” at the Alyea Memorial Chemistry Presentation and “Big-Bang” excursion to PPPL. The “305 Lounge” will feature music, movies, snacks, and interactive games for kids all weekend.

As tradition has it, ’85ers will be well fed during Reunions and no one will go thirsty! Early birds will be treated to a Mexican fiesta with margaritas Thursday night. Friday night fare will include a hearty barbecue, and our class dinner at the Boathouse Saturday will feature surf and turf and fine wines. Three nights of great live entertainment will include music by Ostrich Hat, The Right Mix Band, and The Right On Band.

The Class of 1990

As F. Scott Fitzgerald 1917 so eloquently wrote, “I like large parties. They are so intimate.”

The theme of the Great Class of 1990’s 25th reunion is This Side of Paradise in homage to Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby . Classmates will be sporting classic, yet whimsical, blazers, and other fine garb befitting the era. Our headquarters will be Whitman College, where we will have many activities for classmates and their families.

On Friday morning, as part of our community-service project, we will pack 40,000 meals for the Kids Against Hunger, a humanitarian food-aid organization with a mandate to reduce the number of hungry children in the US and the world. We are thrilled that the great classes of 1980, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2015, and the APGA are co-sponsoring the project with us. Friday night, we will have our class dinner at the Grad College followed by some get-up-and-dance entertainment back at headquarters.

On Saturday, the class will continue the 25th-reunion tradition of hosting the Princeton University Reunions Run (PURR), a 5K cross-country run/ walk on cross-country course. All classes and families are invited to participate and funds raised will be used toward the community-service project. Later on Saturday, the class will lead the P-rade with great music and tigers in tow. Saturday evening will bring more great entertainment after the fireworks. Throughout the weekend, ’90 classmates will be well represented on the Alumni-Faculty forums.

The Class of 1995

The Class of 1995 is celebrating its 20th reunion with the theme “Saturday Nine-Fiver.” Our superfly class will be decked out in disco shirts and bell-bottoms.

Classmates will be enjoying the wonderful atmosphere of the Little Courtyard, and we are expecting more than 500 of our children to be on campus with us for Reunions. We will have plenty of activities for the kids, from bouncy houses to mobile video-game trailers. For the grown-ups, we will be featuring a Silent Disco on Thursday night in which partiers can dance and tune into three live DJs spinning the hits of the ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s. Friday night will feature the progressive sounds of FoPo DJs rocking the tent. Saturday night brings the weekend to a climax with our very own Disco Inferno featuring the Trammps.

The Class of 2000

XVinter is coming! Bring yourselves, your guests, your children, and your direwolves (but leave those dragon eggs at home) to the Class of 2000’s “Game of 00s” reunion in the Kingdom of Wilson!

For those of you interested in casting off your cloaks and furs and cutting it up on the dance floor, we will have bands or DJs on all three nights. We also will have food during every mealtime from Thursday night through Sunday morning because — let’s face it — it’s hard work fighting over control of Westeros.

For your little Bran or Arya, we will have crafts, games, movies, and other activities available throughout the weekend. We’ll have a bounce castle open on Friday and Saturday, with special toddler-only hours for the littlest Tigers. The Princeton Juggling Club will be performing and giving lessons on Friday after lunch. Come get your face painted on Friday evening! We also are scheduling a musical performance by a local children’s entertainer. Older children (ages 6 and up) will enjoy puzzles, board and card games, and foosball in our quieter “Games for 00s” area in the Clapp Game Room. Please note that parents must supervise their children for all activities.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in May!

The Class of 2005

Riders to their mounts, horses to the gates ... The Classy Class of 2005 will be celebrating its 10th reunion in good Southern style at the TENTucky Derby!

Throughout the weekend, the class has a number of great meals and entertainment options planned, as well as great activities for the young Tigers. Beginning Thursday, May 28 , the class will join with its parent class of 1980 for a yummy pasta dinner at 1980’s headquarters, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Later that evening Rubix Cube will perform beginning at 10 p.m.

On Friday , join your classmates for a Reunions picnic at lunchtime, and stick around to hear an awesome Zac Brown Tribute Band. Later that evening, feast on good Southern barbecue around suppertime. Then prepare to be entertained by 45 Riots!

To prepare everyone for the grueling heat of the P-rade on Saturday , our class will partake in a delicious brunch catered by Olive’s before taking our places along Elm Drive. Dinner is on your own, but hurry back to the tents while the night is still young to enjoy the Heartbeat Dance Band, followed by (who else?) DJ Bob! Sunday brunch will close out the weekend.

The Class of 2010

The Class of 2010 takes to the high seas for its fifth reunion with the pirate-themed “X Marks the Spot” celebration in Pyne–1901 Courtyard. Classmates will be found around campus in customized pirate attire including hats, blouses, vests, and dresses. You may even find a few parrots in the mix.

Fifth-reunion headquarters will have three nights of music and entertainment, headlined by Brooklyn-based pop act Avan Lava and the internationally acclaimed DJ, Viceroy. Classmates will be invited to explore all of the new additions and expansions to campus since graduation with the official fifth-reunion treasure map. Ahoy, mateys!

AGPA

Woody Woo Wants You — at the APGA 2015 Reunion.

This year, the APGA salutes the Woodrow Wilson School. During the P-rade, graduate alumni will don top hats in the style of Woodrow Wilson 1879 himself! For the second year, the APGA reunion tent will be located in Cuyler Courtyard, and all graduate alumni are invited to attend. Join us for three nights of entertainment — graduate student and alumni DJs on Thursday night, Atomic Funk Project Friday night, and The Classix Saturday night. And for the first time ever, the APGA will be hosting a DBar After Party from midnight to 2 a.m. Thursday night.

We’ll kick off the weekend Thursday night with a post-generals dinner celebration with graduate students at Whig Hall. Friday will feature a full day of programming, including panel policy discussions on human trafficking and the future of drones in America, lunch, and a welcome dinner. Saturday will begin with a mimosa breakfast in Robertson Hall, followed by lunch at the APGA tent. Graduate alumni and graduate students will then march in the P-rade, enjoy Saturday night dinner, and watch the fabulous fireworks show. This year, the APGA will be partnering with the 25th-reunion community-service project to package 40,000 meals for Kids Against Hunger. Please register to volunteer.

APGA Reunions is fun for the whole family, with activities just for kids during Saturday lunch followed by the excitement of marching in the P-rade!