THE GENESIS OF this year's UMass Festival was the phenomenal success of last year's Campaign Kickoff-which, we can report from personal experience, was an unexpected pleasure not only for the donors it was designed to honor, but for the staff and faculty who produced and attended it.

"I've had people who've been on this campus twenty years tell me they've never seen such a classy event," says John Feudo. As associate vice-chancellor for advancement, Feudo is a professional (if sincere) enthusiast, but his assessment of the kickoff tallies with that of many others. And, he says, "Chancellor Scott loved it, and wants to try to build a new tradition of an even every fall to celebrate the campus and bring the alumni home." Thus, UMass Festival, built into the traditional Homecoming celebration and adding to its football-based festivities such events as a food festival by the pond, a luncheon-lecture series, and a reception with the academic deans, along with a smorgasbord of concerts, exhibitions, open-houses, workshops, tours, and the like.

The Friday Festival flows into Saturday Homecoming - indeed, the whole shebang is called Milestones Homecoming '97 - with its parade, football, fireworks, music, and "Young Alumni Fest." Overlapping both is the ambitious and innovative Women Activists' Reunion (see story page 36), and a series of events marking the fiftieth anniversaries of the College of Engineering and the School of Management; the twenty years' association between George Parks and Minuteman Marching Band; and reunions for the classes of '92, '87, and '82.

Dovetailing with all these celebrations is the September 25 visit to campus of Coretta Scott King and former congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, who will appear at the Mullins Center in one of the widely praised "Crossworlds" conversations that Chancellor Scott has been sponsoring in recent years. Sounds like a crowd-pleaser. We hope to see crowds of you here. Registration for Milestones Homecoming is free, though charges pertain to some events. The ever-ready staff of the alumni office has details. Call 1.800.456.UMASS.