Kansas University Delta Gamma sorority members, from left, sophomore Kimberly Redlin, Minneapolis, Minn.; freshman Lauren Swagerty, Topeka; junior Danae Deshazer, Overland Park; junior Lindsay Fetter, St. Louis; and freshman Meghan Puhr, Olathe, rehearse Wednesday for a singing competition during homecoming weekend. The singers practiced with the Delta Epsilon fraternity at the Delta Epsilon house, 1025 Emery Road.

Kansas University students had better get their rest tonight. Homecoming festivities begin Saturday.

“It’s pretty much ‘go, go, go’ all week,” KU sophomore Becca Ingraham said. “But it’s worth it in the end.”

KU’s Homecoming revelry starts Saturday and runs through the week, culminating with the Oct. 7 bout with Texas A&M in Memorial Stadium.

Football. Contests. Cheerleaders. Pancakes. A D-list celebrity. There’s a full line-up of events that organizers hope keep students and alumni happy as they celebrate all things KU.

¢ The week begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with a Spirit Sprint. The 5K run/walk benefiting the Douglas County United Way begins at the Kansas Union and goes through campus.

¢ The sprint will be followed by Jayhawk Idol and Spirit Sing auditions at the Kansas Union. In the Idol contest, a take on television’s “American Idol,” contestants belt out the national anthem and the KU alma mater as they compete for a chance to perform at KU basketball games.

¢ There will be a hot dog-eating contest at noon Monday on Wescoe Beach.

¢ Students will build intricate sculptures of food cans in the “KU Can-struction” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Wescoe Beach.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity member Luke McKee hangs T-shirts on a line behind the fraternity house Thursday morning. The house is having a party called Mello

¢ Comedian Kathy Griffin, star of the show “My Life on the D-List” will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Lied Center. Tickets are on sale at the Student Union Activities Box Office in the Kansas Union.

¢ A pep rally is planned for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday in the KU Visitor Center parking lot.

¢ A pancake breakfast is set for 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Oct. 7 on the Stauffer-Flint lawn with a parade marching down Jayhawk Boulevard at 9 a.m.

Many in KU’s greek life participate in homecoming, as chapters compete in a weeklong spirit contest.

Ingraham, a homecoming co-chairwoman for Chi Omega, said the chapter hides its float beneath a huge tent and keeps watch over it 24 hours a day.

“It gets to be pretty competitive,” she said. “It seems silly, but it’s fun.”

Hollie Dawson, the week’s publicity chairwoman, said organizers are trying to expand the festivities beyond the greek community by adding events, such as the hot dog-eating contest, that any student can simply drop in on.

“A lot of kids don’t even know that it’s a weeklong event,” Dawson said. “We’re just trying to increase that awareness.”