SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University’s annual homecoming Saturday will help celebrate the university’s 125th anniversary with the theme “SRU 125th Anniversary: Past Present and Future.”

“We have included all of the traditional events like paint the town, homecoming king and queen elections, our Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner, special recognition of the Class of 1964 marking its 50th anniversary, an alumni tent tailgate, a campuswide pep rally with fireworks, the annual parade through downtown and the soccer and football games next Saturday,” said Brad Kovaleski, director of SRU’s Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.

SRU’s Student Government Association has named this week “College Colors Week and Homecoming Spirit Week.”

Members of the SRU community are urged to wear SRU’s green and white throughout the week.

The traditional 10 a.m. parade Saturday kicks off from the Giant Eagle parking lot, heads to downtown, then south along Main Street before disbanding on campus. The parade will have more than 70 units, according to organizers.

That will be followed by an alumni tailgate tent at the Blaze Scarnati Band Field, giving alumni and fans a place to gather before the 1 p.m. SRU versus Shippensburg University men’s soccer game on Egli Field and the 2 p.m. SRU versus Seton Hill University football match-up in Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

A “Fifth Quarter Reunion Alumni Party” is planned in the Smith Student Center Ballroom after the football game, followed by a 6 p.m. dinner for the 1964 Golden Grad class in the Alumni House.

The SRU history department will host a homecoming picnic from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday for history alumni and current history and secondary education social studies majors and minors at the Old Stone House, three miles south of campus on Route 8.

The annual Paint the Town event, where merchants allow students to paint homecoming-related murals on their windows, will be today from noon to 8 p.m. in downtown Slippery Rock.

A “Rock The Arc” event is planned for 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday in the Aebersold Student Recreation Center followed by a 7 to 9 p.m. homecoming pep rally.

The rally will include the announcement of this year’s king and queen; performances by the Marching Pride, cheerleaders, and the dance team, and remarks by President Cheryl Norton and head football coach George Mihalik.

Fireworks will follow at 9 p.m.

SRU alumni will gather at 5 p.m. Friday in the Alumni House for presentation of the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner.

The SRU Soccer Ring of Honor Banquet will be at 6 p.m. in the Smith Student Center.

The SGA Bookstore will offer a 15 percent discount on SRU merchandise Friday and Saturday.

Homecoming activities will end at 1 p.m. Sunday with the SRU field hockey game against East Stroudsburg at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium and at 1 p.m. with the Polish the Rock campus and community cleanup.