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UNCG has canceled its luminaria display scheduled for Tuesday evening because of rain. With rain expected to continue into Wednesday, the event will not be rescheduled. The college plans to distribute the luminarias to area churches and civic organizations for use in their holiday events.

From today's newspaper:

40 years later, luminarias still bring a glow

GREENSBORO — Before Kim Ketchum graduated from UNCG in 1970, he left behind detailed instructions on how he organized the university’s first luminaria display. Just in case anyone had an interest in carrying the torch.

“It never crossed my mind that it would become a standing tradition,” Ketchum said recently.

If the rain holds off, today will mark the 40th anniversary of the campuswide event held before the start of final exams. UNCG officials plan to make a decision by 9 a.m. today on whether the event will be postponed until Wednesday or canceled, said Josh Hiscock, the university’s assistant director for Greek life.

Many things have changed about the event over the years. What began as the bright idea of one enterprising college senior has evolved into a project of the 400 students in UNCG’s 21 Greek chapters. The number of bags placed on campus that first year was 1,000, Ketchum recalled. This year, more than 7,000 will light up campus, Hiscock said. “No matter where you are, you won’t miss it, for sure.”

Luminarias are a popular tradition during the holidays — several other groups in Greensboro have them each year— but the first time Ketchum experienced one as an undergraduate at Northern Arizona University, he was awestruck.

The symmetry of the candles and the soft glow cast by 2,500 of them seemed to bring together the student body of 10,000.

“It was something that crossed all economic barriers, ethnic barriers,” said Ketchum, a Greensboro businessman. “It was a notion that had no limits as to its appeal.”

The feeling stayed with Ketchum when he transferred to UNCG his junior year. He became class president his senior year in 1969 and convinced his classmates to sponsor the event as a senior project.

But the seniors couldn’t have done it without the help of faculty and staff, Ketchum said. The cafeteria donated bags for the candles, and physical plant employees used their flatbed trucks to deliver the sand.

All the materials were taken to one central location on campus. The day of the event, Ketchum encouraged students to swing by on their way to class to help fill bags. Students filled 10 to 20 bags at a time, Ketchum said.

“We kind of cobbled it together,” he said.

That night, the physical plant turned off the campus street lights to enhance the glow. The dorms had been decorated for a contest that university administrators judged. Some students stood along the sidewalks and sang carols. The glow of the candles accompanied that of a bonfire behind Elliott Hall. Students sipped on hot apple cider.

“The not-so-fun part was going by the next day picking them all up,” Ketchum said.

Forty years later, the  luminarias are still about building community, Hiscock said.

While students spent Monday afternoon packing bags in Elliott University Center, rain forecast over the next two days threatens to cancel the event.

If so, Hiscock said the university plans to contact churches and civic groups to see whether they can use the materials for their holiday celebrations.

“We always hope for good weather,” Hiscock said last week, “and the spirit will exist no matter what.”

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 373-7080 or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com.