Alumni, Friends, and Family Weekend

A special Return to Evergreen kick off event! Join us for an evening of Evergreen-themed storytelling with Elizabeth Lord ’95 and Amy Shephard ’09.

7:30 – 9:30 pm

StoryOly Evergreen

You’ll love opening the weekend with this special storytelling party in downtown Olympia. Laugh and learn as fellow alumni tell their Evergreen stories, or take the stage to tell your own!

Rhythm & Rye. No registration required. Suggested donation is $10. Cash only at the door.

Gather at Return to Evergreen with alumni, family, and friends for an incredible weekend!

Saturday pass: $35 adults, $20 students and recent grads.

Be sure to stop by the Greener Bookstore and pick up some Greener Gear!
Sale! 20% off imprinted items for alumni. Open 9:30 am to 3 pm.

9 – 10:15 am

Healing yoga and Sound

Before brunch, give your body, mind, and spirit a gift. Relax, restore, and release in this sound-healing yoga workshop.

Led by Kristen Rubis ’01, this workshop includes breathing exercises, gentle yoga, and meditation, followed by healing sound.

Costantino Recreation Center 116 and 117

10:30 am – 12 pm

Evergreen@50 Brunch

Featuring Evergreen in the first 50 years.
On March 21, 1967, Governor of Washington State Daniel Evans signed a piece of legislation that established The Evergreen State College. This year on March 21, 2017, current Governor Jay Inslee signed a proclamation declaring the date as Evergreen @ 50. This year's Return to Evergreen will commemorate this 50th anniversary milestone with a celebratory brunch for you and your fellow Greener alumni, friends, and family.

As a part of your brunch experience, you will get a raw and unvarnished look at the adventures of Evergreen's first years featuring distinguished faculty members Larry Eickstaedt, David Marr, Nancy Taylor, Dr. Ernest "Stone" Thomas, and Sam Schrager. Expect stories, rumors, myths, facts, and magic - all of which helped to shape the unique institution that The Evergreen State College has become.

Daniel J. Evans Library Lobby, 2nd and 3rd floors

​Learn more about Evergreen in the First Years

12:30 pm – 5 pm

Return to Evergreen sessions

Hands-on workshops, seminars, panels, and tours led by faculty, alumni, and students.

First Session 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm 

• Convicts & Caring: Changing Paths and What Public Servants Need to Know (Part 1): Screening of the "If Project"
• Engaging in Local Politics: An Interactive Community Conversation
• The Evergreen Plan: Walking Through the Story of Campus Architecture
• Hands on Fine Arts Printmaking Workshop
• Introducing the Trans and Queer Center
• Just Mercy Seminar
• Launching Entrepreneurship @Evergreen
• Make America Great Again: How Myths about the Past Threaten our Future
• Progress Towards Phage Therapy in the US
• Supporting Undocumented Students: Equity and Action
• Sustainable Living in the Northwest

Second Session 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

• Aspiring Entrepreneur Workshop
• Convicts & Caring: Changing Paths and What Public Servants Need to Know (Part 2)
• Engaging with Longhouse Arts and Artists
• Exploring Evergreen's 1000 Acre Wood
• KAOS Radio: An Independent Legacy
• Linking Theory to Practice: Evergreen's CCBLA
• Making Russia Great Again
• Parent and Family Advisory Council Fall Meeting
• Seeing Beyond Your Subject: Image Composition in the Mobile Age
• Speak Out: Explore the Art of Storytelling

View all sessions.

5 – 7 pm

Sip and savor social hour

As the day winds down, we’ll gather to taste a wide variety of fabulous wine, beer, soda, liqueur, and coffee produced by alumni businesses, and to connect with fellow alumni and friends of Evergreen.

Daniel J. Evans Library Lobby, 3rd floor 

8 – 11 pm

Scholarship benefit concert

Rock out for a good cause! Featuring Alex R. Puckett, Selector Dub Narcotic and Tender Forever.

Edmond Lapine ’08 was among the 36 people who died in a fire in Oakland, California, December 2, 2016. Lapine’s mother created a new scholarship at Evergreen in his honor. Join Calvin Johnson ’85 and other special guests to celebrate Edmond and raise money for this important fund.

Recital Hall. $10, cash only at the door ($5, for students with ID).

Learn more about the scholarship benefit concert.

We’ve added some exciting new activities to the Return to Evergreen lineup! Join us on Sunday for these immersive and interactive events.

11 am – 1 pm

Return to Evergreen—Tacoma

New! Alumni and friends of Evergreen Tacoma will love this opportunity to connect with one another. Discover how alumni, students, and faculty embody the motto “Enter to learn; depart to serve” in their daily lives. Includes brunch and sessions.

Cost $20.

Learn more about Return to Evergreen—Tacoma.

9 am – 6 pm

Quinault field trip

New! Imagine a classic Evergreen student field trip with added luxuries for a more mature alumni audience, and you have a sense of what your day will be like. We’ll handle all the details while you sit back on a chartered bus excursion to Lake Quinault Lodge in the Olympic National Forest. You’ll enjoy a catered lunch, participate in discussions and workshops, and explore the outdoors.

Cost $100.

Learn more about the Lake Quinault field trip.

11 am – 1 pm

Brunch with Speedy

New! If you’d rather stay close to Olympia or visit with students on campus, cap off your weekend with a special brunch in the Greenery. You can also have your family portrait taken with our famous mascot, Speedy the Geoduck!

Cost $10.

Hotel Accommodations

Hotel RL by Red Lion in Olympia is offering R2E attendees a special rate. Book on or before October 13 by calling 1-800-733-5466 or book online and use the group code EVER1103.

For other travel accommodations and recommendations, visit Experience Olympia.