DATE: Monday, October 6, 1997               TAG: 9710060081

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAM LOWNEY, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY                    LENGTH:   78 lines

ECSU GETS SET FOR HOMECOMING EVENTS HOTEL MANAGERS WELCOME THRONG; PACKED CALENDAR AWAITS PARTICIPANTS

The Albemarle will be filled to overflowing next weekend as a projected 5,000 Elizabeth City State University alumni return for homecoming.

``The hotels are booked up. Restaurants will be filled up. People will be all over everywhere,'' said Marian Mitchell, director of alumni relations. She said travelers are staying as far away as Edenton and Norfolk.

Sam Davis, general manager of the Holiday Inn, said, ``This is the biggest event we house for the entire year.'' Asked how many of the hotel's 157 rooms were reserved by alumni, he answered, ``One hundred fifty-seven.''

The story is the same at the Hampton Inn, which opened in June. General Manager Carol Veal said, ``We were almost booked before we opened.'' She estimated that 85 to 90 of the inn's rooms are promised to alumni.

``The whole issue of coming home for an emotional attachment - be it a family reunion, a sorority reunion or a homecoming - is the best-kept secret in tourism,'' said Carl Blake, tourism manager of the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce. ``It represents incredible numbers of people. The hospitality income is a tremendous economic (benefit).''

Mitchell said ECSU's General Alumni Association hopes to take advantage of the turnout by sponsoring its first-ever homecoming concert to raise money for scholarships. The Grammy-winning Mahattans will perform Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the K.E. White Graduate Center.

``Usually, we have a dance, but this year, we decided to try something different. We hope the community will support it,'' Mitchell said.

She said the association sponsored a Jerry Butler concert in January for the Unity Soiree. Its success prompted the group to book a bigger act for homecoming. ``We're hoping to make more money since more people will be in town.''

The Manhattans' greatest popularity came with love songs recorded in the 1970's and '80s. Founding members Gerald Alston and Blue Lovett reunited in 1993, and the act has been popular on tour.

Tickets to the Elizabeth City show cost $35 and are available at the ECSU Alumni Office, C&J African Print Shop, Keystone Barber Salon and Rochelle Cleaners.

In addition to the alumni concert, the rap artist KRS-1 and the go-go band Junkyard will perform a concert geared more toward students. That show, sponsored by the Student Government Association, is Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Vaughan Center. General admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets are available at the ECSU cashier's office.

A week of ECSU Homecoming festivities began Sunday with a gospel concert at Moore Hall Auditorium. The auditorium also will host a fashion show today and a talent show Tuesday, both at 7 p.m.The fashion show is free, the talent show $4. Tickets will be available at the door.

A free block party with a disc jockey is scheduled for Wednesday at 8 p.m. behind the University Center.

Popular acts Talent, X-Man and Jay will headline a comedy show Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Vaughan Center. Tickets are $12 in advance at the cashier's office and $15 at the door.

The pace will pick up Friday with the ECSU Sports Hall of Fame banquet at 7 p.m. at the K.E. White Center. Admission is $20; purchase tickets at the Alumni Relations Office.

Also Friday:

A Greek step show, in which members of fraternities and sororities perform to rhythms they create with their hands and feet, will begin at 8 p.m. at the Vaughan Center. General admission is $8 at the door.

The Miss Alumni coronation, recognizing the alumna who raises the most money for the occasion, is at 9 p.m. at the K.E. White Center.

An alumni icebreaker begins at 10 p.m. at the K.E. White Center. Admission is $15 at the door.

Saturday begins with the homecoming parade at 10 a.m. from campus through downtown and back. About 75 units will proceed from the Boys and Girls Club on Ehringhaus east to Road Street. The parade will turn left at Road Street, right at Main Street, right at Water Street and continue on Southern Avenue to campus.

A tailgate party will start at 11 a.m. at the stadium, leading up to the pre-game show by the ECSU marching band at 1:30 p.m. and kickoff at 2 p.m. between the ECSU Vikings and the Bowie State (Maryland) College Bulldogs.

Homecoming Queen Delicia Antoinette Wright, a senior from Charlotte studying music education, will reign over the week of events.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu