Pitt alumnae flame-bearers will symbolically give the “light of learning” to some 400 incoming freshman and first-year transfer women during the University’s 86th annual Lantern Night ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27 in Heinz Memorial Chapel. For more information, call 412-624-8229 or 1-800-258-7488. Above: Last year’s Lantern Night.

Some 3,500 Pitt incoming freshmen and transfer students are descending on Oakland this week, and the University’s orientation staff is waiting with open arms to welcome them and provide for a smooth landing as they glide into “Your Journey Begins Here,” a series of orientation events, activities, and ceremonies today through Aug. 27.

Sponsored by Pitt’s Division of Student Affairs’ Office of Student Life, Orientation 2006 will feature tours of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms, Heinz Memorial Chapel, and Petersen Events Center; a Molly’s Trolleys city tour; a Gateway Clipper ride to Fanfest at Heinz Field on the North Shore; a “Meet and Greet” ice cream social; an “Aloha Luau”; entertainment by comedian Craig Carmean; “Game and Carnival” night; and a Student Activities Fair from 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 27 in the Skywalk, David Lawrence Hall, and Posvar Galleria and Plaza.

University staff will be available to answer questions and provide information at Orientation Station, open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today through Aug. 25 in the William Pitt Union (WPU) Lower Lounge. Tickets for today’s Molly’s Trolleys tours will be available there, and students also can sign up there for Saturday social activities.

Scheduled information sessions include presentations on student life and the importance of getting involved, leadership, student health services, campus safety, fraternity and sorority life, and Pittsburgh’s cultural community through the Pitt Arts program, among others. Parents can attend many of the sessions as well as “The Art of College Parenting,” with columnist and author David Coleman, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. tomorrow.

New this year is “PITTsburgh…Bringing Our Great City and People to You” from 7 to 10 p.m. this evening in the WPU Assembly Room, Ballroom, and Kurtzman Room; “Life on Campus…Student Stories” from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. and 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and “Life on Campus…From the Experts” from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 25 in Soldiers and Sailors Museum and Memorial Auditorium; and “What You Need to Know” from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 26 in the Petersen Events Center, presented by Judge Mitch Crane, who has spoken at more than 300 campuses across the country.

The Freshman Convocation Ceremony will be held from 2 to 3 p.m.Aug. 24 in the Petersen Events Center, where Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, Provost James V. Maher, and other distinguished members of the University in academic regalia officially will welcome freshmen to Pitt. Kathy W. Humphrey, Pitt’s vice provost and dean of students, will give the Convocation Address. The Chancellor’s Welcome Reception immediately follows the ceremony, giving students and their families an opportunity to mingle with University faculty, students, and staff.

The traditional Lantern Night Ceremony in Heinz Memorial Chapel at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27 will mark the formal culmination of “Journey” events.

For more information, call 412-648-1074 for a complete schedule of events.