The Centennial Celebration list of events is long for Cardinals past and present.

For starters, Ball State will celebrate its 100th birthday with a public opening event Sept. 6 at Emens Auditorium.

The university’s external kickoff Centennial Celebration, which follows an internal celebration in June, will feature a wide variety of events and activities. for Cardinals past and present.

Emens Auditorium will open at 6:30 p.m. with a casual red carpet preview. At 7:30, Ball State will show its very own student-produced documentary “From Normal To Extraordinary: Ball State’s First Century.” The Ball State Symphony Orchestra will perform along with the documentary.

“This is a very special year,” said Kathy Wolf, vice president for marketing and communications. “It’s already a special year for Ball State because of some of the wonderful things going on, but this milestone of our centennial makes it even more special.”

To date, 1,300 tickets of the available 3,000 have already been distributed for the kick-off event. Tickets are free to anybody who stops by the Emens box office.

Ball State is livestreaming the documentary for those not able to view it in person on bsu.edu/live and the university’s YouTube channel.

“We will have food trucks, music and entertainment,” Wolf said. “It’s pulling out some of the unique parts of campus to start to take the centennial public.”

In a further effort to take the centennial public, Ball State established a Road Show, a traveling celebration of Ball State’s centennial that partnered with United Way to provide families with literacy kits.

According to Ball State’s website, the Road Show kicked off in July, and has already visited Marion, Fishers and Gas City. On Sept. 7th, the Road Show is scheduled to appear in South Bend.

“We’ve selected key areas where we have the most alumni as well as the need, again, input from United Way on areas of need, to promote literacy as well as key cities where our alumni can come, be part of it and support it,” Wolf said.

Possible future locations of the Road Show include Cincinnati, Valparaiso, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Kokomo and Evansville.

Scheduled and potential Road Show locations

Scheduled and potential Road Show locations

In addition to the roadshow, Ball State is partnering with Walk Indiana on Sept. 8 for the eighth annual Walk Indiana charity event, which promotes a healthier community through a non-competitive 10K or a family fun 5K. To promote community involvement, all Ball State employees who participate will earn an extra $12.50 to their October paycheck.

Another upcoming celebration event is the Community Arts Expo from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 in Emens Auditorium. The event will feature many exhibitors and have light refreshments, door prizes and live music.

Events listed for later dates include “Arts Alive: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis” set for Oct. 13. The Chase Charlie 5K, the Alumni Parade Viewing Party and a CharlieTown Tailgating event will be part of centennial and Homecoming festivities Oct. 20.

Senior public relations major Brielle Hill said with all the centennial events, it is an exciting time to be at Ball State.

“I think that there is a lot of excitement around campus, particularly within the classes, about upcoming events for this school year in particular, but looking towards the future of Ball State in general too,” Hill said.