The Homecoming weekend kicks off with Ice Cream at the rock on Farm Lane. From noon to 2 p.m. at the rock on Farm Lane, the Dairy Store will be providing ice cream for attendees’ enjoyment. Students also will have the chance to play pep rally games and win prizes.

Many people will take to the streets of downtown East Lansing beginning at 6 p.m. Friday to view the MSU Homecoming Parade. The celebration will feature the MSU Alumni Marching Band, student organizations, the MSU Cheerleaders, the MSU Dance Team and campus sororities and fraternities, as well as area community groups and high school bands.

The College of Communication Arts and Sciences will offer a location from which to watch the parade’s participants at its Homecoming Bash, which will take place from 6-8 p.m. Friday at Beggar’s Banquet, 218 Abbot Rd. Appetizers as well as access to a cash bar will be available. Tickets cost $10 or $5 for MSU Alumni Association members.

After the parade, the School of Hospitality Business will hold an after-parade celebration from 7-8 p.m. behind the Business College Complex.

On Friday night, some MSU alumni will return to the area to play shows. Punk rock band Dryvel and rock act Hero Jr., which both boast MSU graduates as members, will perform at 9 p.m. at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing. Former MSU football player and ABC bachelor Bob Guiney also will play with his band Fat Amy, at 9:30 p.m. at Rick’s American Cafe, 224 Abbot Rd.

Beginning at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Spartan fans will have the opportunity to be a part of ESPN College Gameday. Attendees interested in participating in this MSU vs. Wisconsin preview can pay $15 to park in the Trowbridge Road ramp and then head to the east side of Munn Field.

The MSU Alumni Association’s Green & White Brunch will take place at 5 p.m. Saturday at Kellogg Center. This event promises to have many special guests in attendance.

Many colleges also will hold tailgates on game day. The College of Arts and Letters will hold its tailgate event from 4:30-7 p.m. in Adams field for a cost of $10 for those 12 years old and older. The College of Engineering’s $15 tailgate will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the south lawn of the Engineering Building. Free tailgates will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Chestnut Street by the College of Social Science, in Demonstration field by the College of Education, behind South Case Hall by James Madison College and on Kalamazoo Street by the Honors College and Lyman Briggs College. From 6-8 p.m., tailgates will be held by the College of Human Medicine near the north side of Spartan Stadium, by the College of Veterinary Medicine in Demonstration field and by the College of Nursing at the corner of Shaw Lane and Red Cedar Road.

The culmination of the weekend will occur at 8 p.m. Saturday in Spartan Stadium when Spartans go head to head with the Wisconsin Badgers. The game’s halftime show will feature the 2011-12 Homecoming Court and Grand Marshal, as well as this year’s Homecoming Parade award winners and the Spartan Marching Band.

For more details about many of these Homecoming events, visit alumni.msu.edu/programs/homecoming/.