Former Buzzes will be swarming back to campus to celebrate the mascot in tights' 25th birthday during Homecoming 2004.

The former mascots are among the nearly 2,000 alumni expected to return to campus for Homecoming seminars, Buzz Bash, milestone reunions and the traditional football game.

The fifth-annual Buzz Bash will pay tribute to the larger than life yellow jacket from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15 in the festival area of Bobby Dodd Stadium. The all-alumni Buzz Bash has quickly becoming a Homecoming favorite featuring great food, beverages, live music and a fireworks show.

Friday night parties also will be hosted for the reunion classes of 1979, 1964 and 1954. All alumni are encouraged to return to campus a day earlier, on Thursday, Oct. 14, when Homecoming weekend will kick off with President Wayne Clough's State of the Institute address.

Clough is set to take the podium at 6 p.m. at the Global Learning and Conference Center at Technology Square. After the address, Michael Gallant, co-host of the weekly radio show "Atlanta Cooks," will showcase European wines at a tasting seminar.

Alumni seminars will continue on Friday and feature such diverse topics as human-robot interaction, entrepreneurial enterprises and the story of some monkeys that took on the college football bowl ranking system.

On Saturday, the alumni tailgate party on the Tech Tower lawn will kick off two and a half hours before the football game against Duke. Yellow Jackets fans can get ready for the big game with great food and music.

Following the game, the Old Gold reunion will take place in the Alumni House ballroom, where alums who "got out" prior to 1953 will welcome the newest eligible attendees — members of the Class of 1954.

A complete schedule of Homecoming events may be viewed at http://gtalumni.org/site/Page/Homecoming.

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