HomeFest is Right Around the Corner

UT Dallas alumni are invited back to campus for the 2024 HomeFest on Oct. 19. Part of the UTD Homecoming celebration, the free event includes tailgate tents with live music, chalk art, UTD merchandise, food and games. Families can also visit a kid’s zone with a bounce house, face painting and more fun activities.

Again this year, HomeFest includes Comet Street, an alumni-owned business vendor fair that was a big hit when it debuted in 2023. This year, nearly a dozen alumni vendors will be onsite to sell and promote a variety of products, including homemade soaps, stationary, candles, skin care products and food items.

Gil Zafra MBA’08, founder and owner of LaGIRALDA food company, is returning for a second year and will be selling handmade empanadas and sauces. Zafra said last year’s Comet Street was a great opportunity to reconnect with UT Dallas years after earning his MBA.

“We felt like students again, but we were there to inspire UTD students and faculty members through our empanadas and chimichurri sauce,” Zafra said. “Overall, the experience was phenomenal for us and our business since we were selling both baked and frozen empanadas.

Zafra continued: “This year we have the feeling that LaGIRALDA has evolved into a full business ready to amplify the HomeFest experience and explore new possibilities to expand our frequency and presence at UTD to convert the campus into a new spot for empanadas and culinary innovation.”

HomeFest attendees are also invited to visit the newly opened Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum cultural district on campus. Tours of the first-phase museum will be offered at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Visit the tour webpage for information and to sign up.

Alumni are also encouraged to visit the UT Dallas Alumni tent to pick up a giveaway.

For more information, including a campus map showing the HomeFest location, visit the event’s registration page.