Explore ETSU’s October events, including Founders Week, Homecoming, concerts, theater, lectures, exhibits, athletics and other community activities.

From the sounds of Appalachian music to the excitement of Founders Week, Homecoming and football games, October offers plenty of ways to connect with East Tennessee State University.

The month’s calendar features performances, lectures, art exhibits, community events, and other opportunities for students, families, alumni and the public. Activities planned at ETSU in October include:

• ETSU’s Founders Week celebrates the university’s founding in 1911 with public events like ETSU football vs. Chattanooga on Oct. 3; the ETSU Elevates Pitch Competition on Oct. 5; an Oct. 6 Founders Week lecture by Fred Sauceman titled “Railcars, Coal Camps, Stack Cakes and Classrooms: The Regional Reach of George L. Carter”; the ETSU-sponsored Johnson City Acoustic Autumn Series concert by Chancellor Lawson on Oct. 8; and ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland’s annual State of the University Address on Oct. 9.

• The SGA Fall Concert on Oct. 7 at Freedom Hall Civic Center features A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and special guest Shelailai.

• ETSU will celebrate its “Red, White, Blue and Gold Homecoming” Oct. 26-Nov. 1. Community events include the Homecoming football game against Tennessee Tech on Oct. 31 and the annual ETSU Gospel Choir Brunch Concert on Nov. 1.

• The Department of Theatre and Dance opens the 2026-27 season with “Decision Height,” a play set in WWII that follows Virginia Hascall and others who trained as members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), with shows daily from Oct. 1-4.

• Among performances presented by the Department of Music in October are the 2026 Choral Collage concert featuring three student vocal ensembles on Oct. 2; the Opening Fall Bands Concert with the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band on Oct. 4; “Arising Unseen: An Evening of ETSU Student Poetry and Art Song” on Oct. 8; Guest Artist recitals by Catchfire Collective on Oct. 15 and pianist Jinzhao Xu on Oct. 18; Faculty Recitals by guitarist James West on Oct. 16 and Joe Gaskins and James West on guitar and double bass on Oct. 27; the ETSU Orchestra Fall Concert on Oct. 23; and “Appalachian Roots,” a concert in the ETSU Faculty and Friends Chamber Series, on Oct. 30.

• An Appalachian Square Dance will be hosted by ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies at The Down Home on Oct. 21.

• The Martin Center for the Arts will host a concert by The Temptations and The Four Tops on Oct. 15, a touring Broadway production of “Clue” with shows on Oct. 26 and 27, and “Sesame Street LIVE! Elmo’s Got the Moves” on Oct. 28.

• Tri-Cities Financial Aid Night on Oct. 5 offers in-person support from ETSU’s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships for current and prospective college students and their families from throughout the region.

• Among several public lectures in October are “The Devil in the Churchyard: Scotland’s Most Infamous Witch” by Dr. Julie Fox-Horton in the WGS on Wednesdays series on Oct. 7; “The Archaeology of Incarcerated Labor on the Western North Carolina Railroad” by Dr. Cayla B. Colclasure on Oct. 8; “Noisy Memory: Recording Sound, Performing Archives” by author Dr. Brian Harnetty on Oct. 22; and “Stellarator Path to Fusion Energy” by Dr. Nick Eidietis of Type One Energy on Oct. 26.

• ETSU’s Great Lecture Series, featuring talks by faculty members recently promoted to professor, continues on Oct. 23 with “Striving for Everyday Influence, Achieving Every Other Day at Best” by Dr. Michelle Johnson of the Department of Rehabilitative Sciences and “From Rural Roots to Future Ready: Advancing Special Education Through Technology, Early Intervention and Teacher Preparation” by Dr. Cathy Galyon of the Department of Early Childhood Education.

• ETSU’s art galleries are hosting several great exhibits, including “Kaleidoscope: Art and Design,” featuring work by ETSU faculty, at the Tipton-Ashe Gallery, with a reception on Oct. 2, and “Drawn Together: Katie Ries” at Slocumb Galleries. At the Reece Museum are “Window Into the Soul: The Work of Amanda Renfrow” and “Spiritual Conversation: Storytelling Through Art Quilts,” with a reception on Oct. 8.  

• ETSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy will host a Planetarium Show describing “The Celestial Origins of Halloween” on Oct. 15 and an Observatory Open House on Oct. 17.

• Other events include Free Mini Photo Sessions for Cancer Fighters and Survivors hosted by ETSU Health on Oct. 9, as well asThe Quillen 100 Disc Golf Tournament to benefit Niswonger Children’s Hospital, a Bikes for Breast Cancer Motorcycle Run to benefit the Ballad Health Cancer Patient Assistance Fund, and a Gatton College of Pharmacy Admissions Workshop and Tour, all on Oct. 24.

Explore the full ETSU Calendar at etsu.edu/calendar. See more of how ETSU energizes the region at etsu.edu/our-region.

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