Brock University: Brock’s Homecoming Grape Stomp returns Friday

After three years waiting on the vine, Brock University’s messiest tradition is ripe for its return.

The Homecoming Grape Stomp will see more than 500 Brock students and alumni slip and slide amongst two metric tonnes of Concord grapes on Friday, Sept. 23 from noon to 1 p.m.

Participants are encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations for Community Care St. Catharines and Thorold, and to dress in costume as they prepare to paint Jubilee Court purple.

Grape Stomp — which University Affairs magazine has called one of the best university traditions in Canada — is part of a packed lineup of events for Brock’s Homecoming celebration this weekend, which includes Friday’s Steel Blade Classic hockey game and Saturday’s Brock Night at the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival, among others.

“We’re ready to bring Grape Stomp back in a big way,” says Kristen Smith, Brock’s Manager, Community Experience and Leadership. “We’re excited to have new students experience this tradition for the first time and for upper-year students who had this on their Brock bucket list to be able to check this off in 2022.”

The event has long been one of the University’s most popular traditions, with hundreds taking advantage of the unique and fun opportunity to let fruit fly.

“It’s not every day you get to stomp grapes and make memories in this way,” Smith says. “It’s also a chance for people to celebrate being in Niagara, in the wine region, with the grape harvest now underway.”

The day will also include live music by Vinyl Flux and a free barbecue for the Brock community, while supplies last.