Are you a current Palmer College student wanting to get involved in Homecoming? Here’s ways you can join us on Main Campus, Sept. 16-19, 2026.
View this list as a printable PDF
Register for Homecoming for FREE!
How to Register
Current Palmer students can attend Homecoming for FREE! Follow this link. Under the drop-down menu, select Student of Palmer College. Then select Student Package (food not included). This is free. If you want to add the food package, select 3-Day Meal Card. This is $125. Click Register Now. If you haven’t created an account in the past, you’ll need to create one now.
Want to attend the Saturday Night Festival?
You can purchase a festival ticket additionally OR volunteer to help with Homecoming and earn a festival ticket for free.
To purchase a Saturday Night Festival ticket, follow this link. Click RSVP for Events and fill in your information. Click Saturday Night Festival and select your name and an adult ticket. These are $50. Additionally, you can purchase a festival ticket when registering for homecoming. Simply select ONE Saturday Night Festival Ticket (ages 13 & older). If you are registering for Homecoming to enjoy the other events, your festival ticket will be in your registration bag. If you are just getting a festival ticket and NOT registering for Homecoming, you can pick up your ticket during Homecoming at the Registration Desk in the R. Richard Bittner Athletic & Recreation Center.
If you would like to serve as a Homecoming monitor to earn a free festival ticket, please email Tatiana Brandt. Monitors must attend one training session and monitor for a minimum of six hours.
How to Pick-Up Your Homecoming Packet
After registering, please visit the Registration Desk in the R. Richard Bittner Athletic & Recreation Center to pick-up your bag and packet. This includes your nametag, program, and any tickets purchased (ex: food tickets, festival tickets, etc.).
Expo Hours:
- Wednesday, Sept. 16: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 17: 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
- Friday, Sept. 18: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
Homecoming Spirit Week
Get excited for Palmer’s Homecoming! We invite everyone to dress up for Spirit Week. Participate in all three themes to win prizes! There will also be awards for “Best Dressed of the Day” so make your outfits stand out!
Themes:
- Monday, Sept. 14: Sports Day!
Put on your favorite sports jersey or team apparel!
- Tuesday, Sept. 15: Students dress like faculty/staff!
- Wednesday, Sept. 16: Palmer Pride!
Wear your favorite Palmer merch or go all out in a complete Palmer Purple-themed outfit to show your Palmer Pride!
How to Win Prizes:
- Monday
Stop by the Learning Commons between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in your sports day outfit. Staff will be there to give you your Spirit Week Punch Card and punch your card for Monday.
- Tuesday
Stop by the Learning Commons between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in your best faculty/staff outfit. Staff will be there to punch your card for Tuesday.
- Wednesday
Wear your Palmer gear and bring your punch card to the Courtyard Party between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Staff will be there to punch your card for Wednesday. You will leave your completed card in a box to be entered to win various prizes that will be drawn throughout the night. Only completed cards will be valid for winning. Must be present to win.
Prizes include: Homecoming Saturday Night Festival tickets, Dave’s coffee cards, Palmer merch, and more! There will also be awards for “Best Dressed of the Day” each day, so make your outfits stand out!
Please email Carly Miller or Kaitlin Clevenger with any questions.
Homecoming Schedule for Students
This schedule has been curated for students who have registered to have a legendary experience!
Wednesday, Sept. 16
Visit the Expo Hall
11 a.m.-5 p.m., R. Richard Bittner Athletic & Recreation Center
Students are encouraged to visit during the Student Expo Reception from 2-5 p.m. before the Courtyard Party! Make sure to grab a Student Expo Punch Card and visit vendors to learn about their products or services and get your card stamped. If you visit all the vendors on one side of the card, then you’ll receive one free drink ticket and if you visit all the vendors on both sides of the card then you’ll receive two free drink tickets. Drink tickets may only be redeemed at the Student Expo Reception.
There will be snacks, music and a chance to win FREE SATURDAY NIGHT FESTIVAL TICKETS!
Courtyard Party
4:30-9 p.m., NEW LOCATION: Bruce & Bethel Hagen Student Union
All faculty, staff, alumni, students and their families are invited to kick-off the Homecoming festivities at the Courtyard Party. Enjoy delicious, free food provided by Aramark and a cash bar at the Front Street Brewery trailer.
The Campus Store is hosting a mini-fashion show! Watch your friends, family, faculty/staff, and classmates strut their stuff in new items featured in our own Campus Store at 5:30 p.m.
Watch the talent show directly after, cheer our current students on during the annual toggle-off, and end the night dancing and singing to live music provided by FireSale, an original Davenport, Iowa, based band known for blending funk, rock-and-roll and reggae!
Other activities include The Snap Wagon photo booth, caricature artists, face painting, and lawn games! Everyone is encouraged to come in their Palmer gear! This event is hosted by Student Council and Student Services.
Campus Store Fashion Show Information: Model call for all ages (students, staff, faculty, children)! Spots are limited and on a first come, first served basis. Stop in the Campus Store Mondays through Fridays to sign-up between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. from Aug. 17-Sept. 1.
Student Talent Show Sign-Ups: Interested in showcasing your talents? Contact Treyton Bainbridge to secure your spot by Monday, Sept. 7. The show will be limited to 10 participants. Acts can be up to five minutes long. Prizes will be awarded to the top three acts.
Toggle Off Sign Ups: Interested in participating in a long time Palmer tradition, The Annual Toggle Off, at this year’s Homecoming Courtyard Party? Spots are limited to the first 25 students to sign up. Prizes will be awarded to the 1st and 2nd place winners. The deadline to sign up is Friday, Sept. 11, at noon. Questions? Please email Isabella Gondolfo, Student Council President.
Thursday, Sept. 17
Visit the Expo Hall
7 a.m.-6:30 p.m., R. Richard Bittner Athletic & Recreation Center
Beyond the D.C.: Exploring Postdoctoral Residencies and Fellowships, Presented by Maranda Kleppe, D.C., Asia Sockrider, D.C., DACRB & Alec Schielke, D.C.
8-9:50 a.m., Room P201
This session will explore postdoctoral training opportunities available after chiropractic school, including clinical residencies and research and health policy fellowships. Attendees will gain an overview of how these pathways can expand career options, enhance clinical expertise, and support careers in integrated health care systems and academia. Attendees will be guided through available programs and key application considerations. The session will also include a Q&A panel and informal discussion as part of the two-hour program.
Opening Session: State of the College, Presented by Chancellor and CEO Dennis Marchiori, D.C., Ph.D.
10:15-11:05 a.m., Vickie Anne Palmer Hall
Join Dr. Marchiori as he opens Homecoming 2026 by offering an insider’s view on the State of the College. In the tradition of the last several years, he will share our latest measures of success, on-going challenges, and strategies to advance Palmer’s mission. Facilities updates, curriculum improvement, and new opportunities will be addressed. As the largest and most successful chiropractic program in the world, Palmer College’s future depends on the continued support and engagement of our full college community. This session will celebrate who we are and lay out the path forward as The Trusted Leader in Chiropractic Education®.
General Session: Coming Home to a Promise, Presented by Casey Okamoto, D.C.
11:15 a.m.-12:05 p.m., Vickie Anne Palmer Hall
Coming Home to a Promise invites chiropractors to experience Homecoming as more than a return to Palmer. It is a return to the promise at the heart of the profession. Guided by the chiropractic oath, this session reflects on what that promise asks of us in 2026: to hold together the art, science, and philosophy of chiropractic; to practice with integrity, skill, humility, and compassion; to protect the confidence and dignity of our patients; to honor our colleagues; and to keep growing in knowledge, judgment, and service.
It is a call to remember that the degree represents more than an achievement. It represents a responsibility to carry chiropractic forward with ethical conviction, evidence-informed care, and renewed commitment to the people who come to us seeking relief, health, and hope.
10-under-10 Alumni Award Panel
12-1:30 p.m., The NCMIC Center for Business Development
Hear from recipients of the 2026 10-under-10 Alumni Awards as they share their perspectives and unique insights. Moderated by PSAF members, this panel will provide a platform to gain valuable insights from graduates of the past 10 years who have made significant contributions, are emerging leaders, and are active mentors or volunteers. Lunch is provided.
Extraordinary Cases in Everyday Chiropractic Practice, Presented by Bryan Asby, D.C., Laurel Griffin, D.C. & Brad Poock D.C., LCP, FPHC
2:30-3:20 p.m., The NCMIC Center for Business Development
Join a panel of practicing Doctors of Chiropractic as they share remarkable patient cases and clinical outcomes from everyday practice. Through real-world examples, presenters will highlight the impact quality chiropractic care can have on health, function, and quality of life. This uplifting session, moderated by Dr. Roger Hynes, celebrates the profession by showcasing what chiropractors do in the communities they serve. Attendees will leave inspired by the possibilities that exist within clinical practice.
Big Tent Philosophy
7:30-9:30 p.m., Palmer Family Residence Courtyard
Enjoy a longstanding tradition to listen, learn, and celebrate the principles that shaped chiropractic’s foundation. Hear from alumni as they share stories, insights, and the enduring importance of chiropractic philosophy—past, present, and future.
Friday, Sept. 19
Visit the Expo Hall
7 a.m.-5 p.m., R. Richard Bittner Athletic & Recreation Center
General Session: Sleep: The Backbone of Health, Performance and Longevity, Presented by Wendy Troxel, Ph.D.
10:30-11:20 a.m., Vickie Anne Palmer Hall
In a culture obsessed with living longer, we often overlook a more meaningful goal: living well. This session reframes longevity as the pursuit of a full, meaningful life and positions sleep as the foundation that makes that possible. Drawing over 20 years of research and clinical work, Dr. Troxel shows that sleep is not passive rest. It is an active biological process that drives mental clarity, emotional resilience, physical health, and relationship quality. From clearing neurotoxins to strengthening relationships, sleep shapes how we think, feel, and perform every day. The talk highlights the real costs of sleep loss, including increased health risks, strained relationships, and reduced performance, while cutting through the noise of “sleep hacking.” Instead, it delivers a practical, evidence-based framework focused on consistency, environment, and sustainable habits. The takeaway is simple. Sleep is not a luxury; it is the infrastructure for health, performance, and a life fully lived.
General Session: The Missing Link: The Nervous System’s Control of Inflammation, Presented by Dan Weinert, D.C., Ph.D.
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m., Vickie Anne Palmer Hall
In this session, Dr. Weinert introduces a modern framework for understanding inflammation through the lens of the nervous system, positioning it as the “missing link” in immune regulation. Rather than viewing inflammation as purely chemical or immune-driven, this presentation explores how the neuroimmune connection, anchored in the anti-inflammatory reflex, actively controls cytokine activity and maintains homeostasis. Attendees gain a clear understanding of how vagal signaling, parasympathetic tone, and cholinergic immune pathways shape inflammatory responses, and why breakdowns in this system lead to loss of control. By reframing inflammation as a regulated process, not just a reaction, this session offers chiropractors a compelling, biologically grounded model for interpreting health, dysfunction, and patient resilience.
Palmer Night at Armored Gardens
5 p.m., Armored Gardens
With 100+ craft beers on tap, classic bar food, and a wide-open patio buzzing with conversation, this is your time to kick back, raise a glass, and remember why Palmer will always feels like home.
Saturday, Sept. 20
General Session: Stress Management and the Somatic System: Reclaiming Chiropractic’s Healing, Presented by Steven Capobianco, D.C., M.A., DACRB, CSCS
10:30-11:20 a.m., Vickie Anne Palmer Hall
This plenary session bridges the gap between patients’ rising stress levels, their pain experience, and the unique role chiropractors play in restoring body-brain connection through the adjustment and other hands-on interventions. Rather than treating stress as a purely “mental” problem, this session reframes it as a threat-driven, body-first phenomenon that can be directly influenced by chiropractic touch, presence, and interoceptive awareness.
Attendees will leave with a renewed appreciation for the adjustment, and other touch-based therapies, as a neurobiological intervention, not only a mechanical one, and with simple, immediately applicable strategies to help patients (and themselves) regulate stress, reconnect with their bodies, and better manage pain.
General Session: Hynes Wide Open: Deconstructing The Myths that Try to Tear Us Down, Presented by Roger Hynes, D.C., DPhCS, FICA
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m., Vickie Anne Palmer Hall
Building on last year’s exploration of professional identity, this session turns its attention outward by examining the critiques, misconceptions, and narratives that are frequently used to challenge or diminish the chiropractic profession. Participants will experience a thoughtful and historically grounded analysis of the most common claims leveled against chiropractic, including those that originate not only from external critics but also from within the profession itself. You will leave not just with a list of rebuttals, but with a sophisticated understanding of how to neutralize attacks by providing the missing context. This session equips attendees with the facts needed to turn a defensive stance into an educational opportunity.
Palmer Rugby Games
11 a.m., 315 S. Marquette St.
Fill the sidelines and cheer on Palmer Rugby! Women kick off at 11 a.m., followed by men at 1 p.m.
Legendary Lessons with Steven Capobianco, D.C., M.A., DACRB, CSCS, (`03)
3:30-4:30 p.m., Room P201
Gather with legends. Leave with a lesson. Join us for an hour of thoughtful conversation and reflection during Legendary Lessons. In this relaxed, armchair-style interview session, Dr. Capobianco will share stories, insights, and lessons learned from his experiences in the field.
Saturday Night Festival*
6-9 p.m., Campus Plaza
We’re bringing back Fair Warning, delicious food, and the fireworks finale. It’s the perfect way to cap off Homecoming and create new memories with alumni and friends. Cost is $50 for adults and $20 for kids 12 and under.
*Ticket required
