Football package tickets for Family Weekend are sold out. For families who purchased tickets, information about registration and ticket pick-up times will be sent to you through email in the coming weeks.

We invite those not attending the football game to join us for a viewing party to watch the Grizzlies on the big screen in the UC Theater and enjoy a free nacho bar and prize raffle. Registration for the free viewing party and many other Family Weekend events is available here.

This year, the Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown will offer UM families a discounted group rate for their stay in Missoula. Reservations can be made online or by calling 1-800-399-0408.

More information about Family Weekend events will be updated on the 2012 Family Weekend event on the the UM News and Events Facebook page.

UM students and alumni will celebrate Homecoming Week beginning Sunday, Sept. 16, and events will culminate with the Grizzlies vs. Northern Arizona football game Saturday, Sept. 22. Celebrations and events will be held throughout the week.

• Sept. 16: Homecoming Kickoff Celebration, Southgate Mall clock court, 1-2:30 p.m.
• Sept. 19: Decorating contest, Greek houses, dorm doors and department front desks, 2:30-5 p.m.
• Sept. 20: Food Zoo Homecoming Dinner, $7.45 per person, 5 p.m.
• Sept. 21: Hello Walk, Turner Hall sidewalk, 1 p.m.; Department open houses and receptions, 2-5:30 p.m.; Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony and reception, UC Ballroom, 5:30 p.m.; Pep rally, the Oval, 8 p.m.
• Sept. 22: Homecoming Hustle, Higgins and Broadway avenues, 9:45 a.m.; Homecoming parade, Higgins and University avenues, 10 a.m.; Homecoming TV Tailgate, Adams Center East Auxiliary Gym, 11 a.m. to end of game; Grizzlies vs. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Washington-Grizzly Stadium, 1:30 p.m.

View more Homecoming events here.

The UM Office of Public Safety and Police Department will host three sexual assault awareness seminars during autumn semester. The seminars, presented by Community Relations Officer Casey Gunter, are specifically designed for women and will cover topics ranging from resources and first-step processes to perpetrator motivation and self-defense.

Sessions begin in October and run for four weeks. Gunter said the seminars will help women recognize unsafe situations and potential perpetrators and empower them to trust their instincts and get to safety.

The seminars are open only to women and will be held 7-9:30 p.m. in Gallagher Business Building Room 201. Session one runs each Tuesday, Oct. 2-23; session two runs each Thursday, Oct. 4-25; and session three runs each Wednesday, Oct. 24-Nov. 14. The seminars are free, but participants are asked to preregister by calling the Office of Public Safety at 406-243-6131.

UM's First-Year Reading Experience provides new students a common connection through a thought-provoking book. This year's book, "Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It" by Maile Meloy, is a collection of 11 short stories set in Montana and the American West.

The stories feature flawed and vulnerable characters who experience conflicting desires and struggle to find their way. Meloy demonstrates that having it both ways comes with both satisfaction and costs, and that life sometimes gives us impossible choices.

More information on Meloy's upcoming visit to campus and the First-Year Reading Experience writing competition can be found here.

Fall Feastival highlights Montana food cycle 

The UM Farm to College program will host the third annual Fall Feastival: Celebrating Montana's Food Cycle from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, on the Oval. The annual harvest feast provides students, faculty and staff a holistic view of Montana's agricultural food cycle.

The event is the culmination of a year of planning and cooperation with more than 25 food-producing partners. Nearly all of the items on the menu will be provided by local farmers, ranchers and food producers, who began preparations to grow and raise the food for the feast in April.

"The goal of this meal is to celebrate the success of the UM Farm to College program and to raise public and student awareness about the time and effort required to produce the food we eat each day," said Mark LoParco, director of University Dining Services.

For more information and meal pricing, visit http://life.umt.edu/dining/.

• Friday-Saturday, Oct. 12-13: Family Weekend
• Tuesday, Nov. 6: Election Day, no classes, UM offices closed
• Monday, Nov. 12: Veterans Day holiday, no classes, UM offices closed
• Wednesday, Nov. 21: Student Travel Day, no classes
• Thursday-Friday, Nov. 22-23: Thanksgiving Break, no classes, UM offices closed
• Friday, Dec. 7: Last day of regular classes
• Monday-Friday, Dec. 10-14: Final exams
• Friday, Dec. 14: Residence halls close at 5 p.m.