August 19, 2021

To my fellow UM employees,

As we look forward with eager anticipation to welcoming our students back to campus later this month, I want to take an opportunity to celebrate you, UM’s faculty and staff members. Please mark your calendars and join us on the Oval on Aug. 26 from 5 - 8 p.m. for UM Family Fun Night, an event to thank you for the important work you do every day, and to recognize your exceptional efforts over the past 17 months. 

This free, family-friendly event will start at 5 p.m. with music, a variety of lawn games (including croquet, ladder ball, cornhole and more), sidewalk chalk and other activities for UM employees and their family members to enjoy. To help everyone keep cool, tents and misters will be set up, and free frozen treats will be served from 5 - 6:30 p.m. 

Starting at 6:30 p.m., guests will be invited to enjoy a screening of "Raya and the Last Dragon," a 2021 release of the Walt Disney Animation Studios. A number of the Oval’s Adirondack chairs will be available for guests to sit in, but we encourage you to bring picnic blankets, beach chairs, camp chairs, pillows, etc., to ensure your comfort during the movie. 

Please plan to bring a picnic dinner or purchase food from one of the two on-site food trucks – Nomad (Campus Dining’s newest Food Court vendor serving Eastern Mediterranean cuisine) and The Wild Weenie (which offers award-winning hot dogs, Polish sausages, walking tacos and hamburgers). Free popcorn and drinks will be available during the movie.

Masks are recommended throughout the event when you are not able to maintain healthy distancing. 

Again, thank you for your exceptional efforts these past 17 months. I look forward to seeing you on Aug. 26 on the Oval, as well as on Aug. 27 from 8 - 9:30 a.m. for the UM Fall Welcome.

Sincerely,

Seth