2019 49ers Celebration Adds New Events To Traditional Fare

October 1, 2019


Friday afternoon’s events will feature a special announcement from President Wells

 

SOCORRO, N.M. – The annual 49ers Celebration – New Mexico Tech’s homecoming – features a weekend full of fun activities on campus and around town from Thursday to Sunday, Oct. 17 to 20.

Click here for the complete schedule and registration information.

This year marks the 130th anniversary of the founding of the New Mexico School of Mines in 1889, when five local families donated the land that is now the NMT campus. The celebration promises to have plenty of fun activities for Techies of all ages.

Heritage mining event from 2018The week’s schedule begins Wednesday at Macey Center with the Taj Express, a Bollywood musical revue. Thursday night is comedy night featuring Raymond Orta, Chris Fonseca, and Vincent Vigil.

(The heritage mining events (pictured) will return for 49ers).

The celebration gets into full swing Friday (an academic holiday) with a full day of activities. Field games, and two rugby games will be featured on the Athletic Field. NMT President Dr. Stephen Wells will make a special announcement between the two rugby games at about 4:15 p.m. He encouraged all students, faculty, staff and alumni to be present for a one-of-a-kind moment in NMT history.

A major annual highlight of 49ers is the annual Paint the ‘M’ event on the morning of Friday, Oct. 19. This is the only time during the year that the general public is allowed on ‘M’ Mountain. Students are invited to carry 50-pound sacks of lime up the mountain to help give the ‘M’ its annual makeover.

Students dump marble dust on the M iThe first 20 students (or teams of students) to reach the ‘M’ with marble dust will earn $50. Alumni and NMT employees are also welcome to take part in the tradition that started in 1910.  The hike is about 2.5 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation change over rugged terrain.  Registration is required. Click here to register.

(Students dump marble dust on the 'M' in 2018)

Dr. Van Romero, V.P. of Research and a graduate of NMT, said “Painting the ‘M’ is much like going to school at Tech – it’s difficult, but worth the effort. Every student should experience this at least once during their career here. It’s a great tradition.”

Click here to register for the 'M' Mountain Run.

The Mechanical Engineering Department will host new and entertaining demonstrations. First, President Wells and Dr. Frank Etscorn will race each other in mini-baja cars built by NMT students. Also, the department will host drone races in the gym, and a limited number of tethered hot-air balloon rides on the Athletic Field.

Other highlights of the annual event include the alumni vs. students rugby match, live music all weekend, a block party on Campus Drive, and casino night. The festivities continue throughout the weekend, with student events, alumni gatherings and other activities around campus and Socorro.

The parade will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, with a Steam Punk theme. People are also invited to test their skills in a Mobile Video Game Truck that will be on campus Friday and Saturday afternoons.

For the third consecutive year, NMT is hosting the Heritage Mining Events Competition. Students will pit their skills against each other in single-stake drilling, gold panning, Swedish sawing, and jack-leg drilling. 

The Elfego Baca Shoot is Socorro’s infamous extreme golf event, which is scheduled for Saturday morning. Intrepid golfers will tee off from the ‘M’ on the mountain and finish at the EMRTC building. The event includes one extremely long, and extremely difficult hole.

– NMT –