Howard Payne University’s Homecoming celebration will be held Friday through Sunday, Oct. 4-6. This year’s theme is “There Is No Place Like Homecoming,” honoring L. Frank Baum’s classic book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

Alumni and visitors can register for Homecoming events by visiting homecoming.hputx.edu or by calling 1-800-950-8465 or 325-649-8069. A full calendar of events and tickets are available online.

Approximately 40 events will be held throughout the weekend, including the following:

Performances of “Into the Woods” will be held at the university’s Mims Auditorium. Show times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. For ticket information, contact the School of Music and Fine Arts at 325-649-8500.

The Golden Graduate Luncheon for the Class of 1963 will be held Friday from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Mabee University Center’s Bullion Suites.

HPU’s soccer teams will take on Concordia University Friday afternoon (women at 1 p.m. and men at 3 p.m.) and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday (women at 1 p.m. and men at 3 p.m.). The games will be held at HPU’s Citizens National Bank Soccer Field.

Homecoming Convocation will begin at 2 p.m. Friday in Mims Auditorium. The Homecoming Queen and Princess will be crowned.

The Alumni Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Alumni Association, will be held Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Mabee University Center’s Beadel Dining Area, during which several Homecoming 2013 honorees will be recognized. Dr. Cynthia Clawson Courtney ’70, award-winning Christian artist, and Dave Lee ’74, well-known trumpeter from the Austin area, will perform.

The university will host Cobbler on the Campus, sponsored by Underwood’s Cafeteria, from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday night at Muse Plaza and Mall. This dessert social is open to all campus visitors.

From 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday evening, the university will host a pep rally and laser light show sponsored by the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce at Muse Plaza and Mall.

Saturday morning, the Hispanic Alumni Breakfast will be held in the Mabee University Center’s Bullion Suites from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Homecoming Parade, sponsored by Big Country Ford, will travel around the HPU campus on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. The parade will wind its way from HPU’s Doakie Day Art Center around the Mabee University Center, down Fisk Street to Austin Avenue, where it will turn and re-enter the campus on Center Avenue. The parade will end on HPU’s Wilson Walkway.

HPU’s volleyball team will compete against Hardin-Simmons University (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and UT Dallas (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.) on Saturday. Both games will be held at the Brownwood Coliseum.

The Picnic on the Plaza, sponsored by the Early Chamber of Commerce, will begin at noon on Saturday at Muse Plaza and Mall on the HPU campus.

The HPU Yellow Jacket football team will play Louisiana College at 2 p.m. Saturday at Gordon Wood Stadium.

On Sunday at 9 a.m., married alumni are welcome to participate in renewing their vows in HPU’s beautiful Grace Chapel.

A variety of reunions and other events will be held throughout the weekend. A complete schedule of events is available online at homecoming.hputx.edu.