Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State's Welcome Center is having a special celebration for university fans and all others coming to campus Saturday [Sept. 22] for the next home football game.
The center, along with the Cullis and Gladys Wade Clock Museum, are celebrating their sixth birthday by offering free cake slices and MSU-made ice cream to all.
The adjoining facilities are located at the east end of the Cullis Wade Depot, which also houses the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Mississippi State. The depot is the large red-brick, green-roof building adjacent to the west side of David Wade Stadium.
"Beginning at 2 p.m., we will be serving cake and ice cream as long as they last," said new center coordinator Cristina Stevens, adding that "there is no formal birthday program."
At 6 p.m. on Scott Field, the MSU Bulldogs' non-conference gridiron contest kicks off against the Mobile-based University of South Alabama Jaguars.
Stevens said she and other staff members also will have a tailgate party set up on the center's front (south-side) lawn. Game-day stickers and face paintings will be available.
The Welcome Center serves as the "front door" for visitors arriving on the 134-year-old land-grant institution's main campus. Recently, it underwent a facelift that Stevens said she and other fulltime and volunteer staff members are eager to show to the public.
In addition to four hours prior to each home football game, the center is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
For more information, telephone 662-325-5198 or e-mail visit@pres.msstate.edu.