Wednesday, October 2 through Friday, October 4

Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year)

Rosh Hashanah is the holiday marking the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is a time for new beginnings, spiritual renewal and community. Holiday traditions include gathering for prayer services to hear the blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn, dipping apples into honey to symbolize hopes for a sweet new year and gathering for communal meals.

Dinner: Wednesday, 6 p.m. – RSVP only
McBride Gathering Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion

Day 1 Services: Thursday, 10 a.m.
Sacred Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion

Luncheon: Thursday, 12 p.m. – RSVP Only
McBride Gathering Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion

Tashlich
Lake Mary Nell
Meet at Sklut Hillel Center, Thursday, 1:30 p.m.

Hosted by Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and Jewish Life

Wednesday, October 2

Laura Edwards, “Only the Clothes On Her Back”

Whitley Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Amanda Laury Kleintop, moderator
Liberal Arts Forum Lecture

Laura F. Edwards is a professor of history and the Class of 1921 Bicentennial Professor in the History of American Law and Liberty at Princeton University. Her research and teaching both focus on women, gender and law, with particular emphasis on the 19th century U.S. South. At Elon, Edwards will offer a presentation of her 2022 book, “Only the Clothes on Her Back,” which tells the history of law and commerce in the United States between the American Revolution and the Civil War by foregrounding textiles. Textiles figured prominently in the new republic because married women and enslaved people could not own and trade them even though they could not claim other forms of property under law. Elon students will be invited to submit questions for a conversation after the lecture, moderated by Elon Assistant Professor of History Amanda Laury Kleintop, about how the history of textiles highlights the intersections of African American history, gender history and the law, as well as the legacies today.

Friday, October 4

Intersect: Diversity and Leadership Conference

Moseley Student Center, 12 – 7:30 p.m.

Intersect provides a look at the disciplines of diversity, leadership and the cross-sections of the two. Participants engage in dialogue and reflection through keynote speakers and educational sessions. The conference pillars work to inspire participants to create positive change for the common good in the organizations and communities. Admission: Intersect is free for all Elon students, faculty and staff. Registration for outside participants is $30. Sponsored by The CREDE and the Center for Leadership

Friday-Wednesday, October 4-8

Department of Performing Arts presents “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead”

Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Kevin Otos
Roberts Studio Theatre, Scott Studios at Arts West
Oct. 4, 5, 7, 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 5, 6 at 2 p.m.

“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” is an inventive, comedic retelling of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” from the perspectives of two minor characters: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. One of Tom Stoppard’s best-known works, with humorous nods towards Becket’s “Waiting for Godot,” our two unlikely heroes take a journey both realistic and theatrical towards their inevitable and tragic fates. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Reservations are highly recommended and will be offered beginning on Friday, September 27 at www.elonperformingarts.com.

Sunday, October 6

Liturgy on the Lawn

South Campus near Holland House, 5 p.m.

In honor of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4), the patron saint of animals and the environment, Catholic Campus Ministry will celebrate the 5 p.m. Sunday Mass outside on the lawn of Holland House. All are invited to attend this Catholic worship service. A Sunday supper will follow. Hosted by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and Catholic Campus Ministry

Monday, October 7

A Chat with Booker-winning Sri Lankan Author
Shehan Karunatilaka

LaRose Student Commons, 5:30 p.m.
Conversation moderated by Assistant Professor of English Dinidu Karunaneyake

Shehan Karunatilaka won the Booker Prize – one of the highest literary awards given to the best work of fiction written in English each year – for his second novel, “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida,” in 2022. He is the author of “Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew” which won the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize, and the short story collection “The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises” (2022). His work has also appeared in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Wisden, GQ, Conde Nast and National Geographic. For his adroit use of magic realism and absurdist humor to critique postcolonial politics and the residual legacies of European imperialism, he is often compared with such writers as Salman Rushdie and Gabriel García Márquez. Karunatilaka is one of the most critically acclaimed authors of global anglophone literature today. Sponsored by The English Department, the Periclean Scholars Program and the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society

Tuesday, October 8

Tectonic Plates: Alamance County’s Science Café – Fall Forensics with NCDOJ Crime Lab

Burlington Beer Works, Burlington, NC, 7 p.m.

Each month on second Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m., a different scientist will present an engaging topic at Burlington Beer Works in downtown Burlington. In October, Wendell Ivory will discuss forensics biology.

All Tectonic Plates events are free and open to the public. Expect a lively event in a relaxed atmosphere without all the technical jargon. Tectonic Plates runs from September through May. For more information about Tectonic Plates, contact Dave Gammon, professor of biology at Elon.

Friday – Saturday, October 11 & 12th

Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement)

Considered by many to be the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur is a 25-hour fast day, during which time Jews take stock of their past year, atone, repent and many wear white to mark the somber mood of the day, the opportunity for a fresh start, and the connection to the cycle of life and death. According to tradition, on Rosh Hashanah, the Book of Life is written, and on Yom Kippur, it is sealed. The Elon community gathers for meals to begin and end the fast and participates in prayer services.

Meal Before the Fast: Friday, 6 p.m. – RSVP only
LaRose Student Commons

Kol Nidrei Services: Friday, 7 p.m.
Sacred Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion

Morning Services: Saturday, 10 a.m.
Sacred Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion

Yizkor Followed by Neilah Services: Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
Sacred Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion

Havdalah/Break Fast: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. – RSVP only
McBride Gathering Space

Hosted by Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and Jewish Life

Tuesday, October 15

Dan Tepfer, “Inventions/Reinventions,” piano

Whitley Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Elon University Lyceum Series

Dan Tepfer has earned an international reputation as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging innovation, individuality and drive. Born in 1982 in Paris to American parents, Tepfer has recorded and performed around the world with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music. Tepfer earned global acclaim for his 2011 release, “Goldberg Variations/Variations,” performing J.S. Bach’s masterpiece as well as improvising on it – to “elegant, thoughtful and thrilling” effect, according to New York magazine. His 2023 return to Bach, “Inventions/Reinventions,” an exploration of the narrative processes behind Bach’s beloved Inventions, also became a best-seller.

Tuesday, October 15

Beyond “Wastelands”: Pigs, Pollution and a Community’s Fight for Justice

McKinnon Hall, Moseley Center, 7:30 p.m.

Between 2013 and 2020, hundreds of residents of rural eastern North Carolina fought to hold the world’s largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, accountable in court for longtime environmental harm to their air, their water, and their ancestral land. Attorney and author Corban Addison chronicles that story in Wastelands, recipient of the 2023 Reed Environmental Writing Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Wastelands recounts the triumph of human courage and community persistence in the face of insurmountable odds, as well as an untold civil rights story that resonates with America’s current reckoning on race. It exposes the hidden side of agribusiness, the dangers of corporate capture in the state legislatures, the challenge of holding rich and powerful industries to account in the courts, and the true cost of one of America’s favorite breakfast foods – bacon.

In this visually rich presentation, complete with video footage and animations from five federal trials, Addison will shine a light on the intersection of food, race and money as he takes his audience behind the scenes of a landmark war in the courtroom that brought a once invincible industry to its knees. Sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, Elon University School of Law, the Environmental Studies Department, the Kernodle Center for Civic Life and the Fund for Excellence in Arts and Sciences (a joint endeavor of the College of Arts and Sciences and Phi Beta Kappa)

Wednesday – Wednesday, October 16-23

Sukkot

Sukkot is the Jewish holiday marking the fall harvest. People gather in sukkot (outdoor tents), shake the lulav in the mornings and wind down after the intensity of the High Holidays. The week of Sukkot is known as zman simchateinu, the season of our joy. It is a time to reflect on the ephemerality of life, gather in community and experience joy.

Sukkot Evening (Night 1) and Family Shabbat
Sklut Hillel Center Outback: 5:30 p.m. – RSVP only

Sponsored by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and Jewish Life

Friday-Saturday, October 18-19

Instant Laughter

Yeager Recital Hall, Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m. both nights
Fredrick J. Rubeck, director

Elon’s comic improv team, Instant Laughter, takes the stage performing scenes and sketches based on audience suggestions. Need a laugh? Join us for an evening of improv comedy! Admission: $15 at the door. All proceeds benefit Elon’s theatre arts program. Sponsored by the Department of Performing Arts

Friday-Sunday, October 25-27
Thursday-Saturday, October 31-November 2

Department of Performing Arts presents
“Legally Blonde”

Music & Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Neil Benjamin; Book by Heather Hach; Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture

Directed by Courtney Liu; Choreography by Alexandra Warren; Musical direction by Chris Rayis; Set design by Natalie Hart; Property design by Kayla Jordan; Costume design and Hair & Makeup design by: Kayla Higbee; Sound design by Savion Taylor; Technical consultant: Mike Smith

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts
Oct. 25, 26, 31 and Nov. 1, 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 27 at 2 p.m.

OMG You Guys! Did you hear? Elon Performing Arts is presenting the award-winning musical, “Legally Blonde,” based on the iconic movie with Reese Witherspoon! Join us on Elle Wood’s journey from UCLA to Harvard Law School and help us cheer on our heroine as she tackles stereotypes and sexual assault on her way to becoming the best dressed lawyer we all know and love. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available beginning October 4 at www.elon.edu/boxoffice.