{"id":6301,"date":"2026-05-26T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/?p=6301"},"modified":"2026-05-26T17:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:54:15","slug":"its-commencement-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/2026\/05\/26\/its-commencement-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2026: Commencement Weekend is Almost Here!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Greetings, Bates Class of 2026 families \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are so excited to celebrate the Class of 2026 with you in just a few short days. Campus is buzzing as we prepare for this special milestone weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you&#8217;ll be joining us on campus or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/commencement\/commencement-2026\/watch-live-2\/\">tuning in from afar<\/a>, we wanted to share a few reminders ahead of this exciting celebration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Friday, May 29<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cap &amp; Gown Pickup:\u00a0<\/strong>Students may pick up their regalia at the Bates College Store from\u00a0<strong>May 28\u201330 from 8 a.m.\u20134 p.m.<\/strong>\u00a0No pre-order is required; students simply provide their name, height, and Bates ID at pickup. Standard regalia is provided at no cost, and additional Commencement items will be available for purchase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Senior\/Parent Events:\u00a0<\/strong>We hope to see you at the\u00a0<strong>Senior Parent Gift Celebration\u00a0<\/strong>from\u00a0<strong>8\u20138:30 p.m.<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/map\/#\/commons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fireplace Lounge of Commons<\/a>. While we\u2019ll offer a special toast to recognize donors to this year\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/senior-parent-gifts\/\">Senior Parent Gift<\/a>, all are welcome to attend.\u00a0Immediately following, head over to the\u00a0<strong>Senior\/Parent Wine and Cheese Tasting<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0<strong>8:30\u201310:30 p.m.<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/map\/#\/bardwell-field-tent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bardwell Field Ten<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/map\/#\/bardwell-field-tent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">t<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Saturday, May 30<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Baccalaureate Ceremony:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/commencement\/commencement-2026\/baccalaureate-2026\/\">Baccalaureate<\/a>\u00a0will take place at\u00a0<strong>11 a.m.<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/map\/#\/the-quad\">Historic Quad<\/a>. Planned by members of the Class of 2026 and the Bates Multifaith Chaplaincy, this reflective ceremony features music, storytelling, and voices from many traditions and backgrounds.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Parking:\u00a0<\/strong>Campus Avenue will be closed to through traffic throughout the weekend. We recommend parking behind\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/map\/#\/merrill-gymnasium\">Merrill Gymnasium<\/a>\u00a0or in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/map\/#\/bonney-science-center\">Bonney Science Center<\/a>\u00a0lot for accessible parking.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sunday, May 31 \u2014 Commencement Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Commencement Seating:<\/strong>\u00a0Seating opens at\u00a0<strong>7 a.m.<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/map\/#\/the-quad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Historic Quad<\/a>, and guests are asked to be seated by\u00a0<strong>9:15 a.m.<\/strong>\u00a0for the Commencement procession. Families and friends may sit in any non-reserved areas on a first-come, first-served basis.\u00a0<strong>A member of your party must remain with held seats<\/strong>, as unattended seats are not considered held. Families needing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/commencement\/annual\/commencement-2024\/faqs-what-to-expect-for-commencement-2026\/#will-commencement-weekend-be-accessible-for-people-with-disabilities\">accessible seating<\/a>\u00a0should look for chairs with blue covers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Photography:\u00a0<\/strong>Professional photographers from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gradimages.com\/\">GradImages<\/a>\u00a0will photograph each graduate during the ceremony, and graduates who provided a post-Bates email address will receive photo access information approximately two weeks after Commencement.\u00a0<strong>Families are also welcome to take photos throughout the ceremony while keeping aisles, the graduate seating area, and parade path clear.\u00a0<\/strong>Additionally, please do not move into any of the three main aisles as individual names are being called. We appreciate your help with this!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Inclement Weather:\u00a0<\/strong>Both Baccalaureate and Commencement take place on the Historic Quad,\u00a0<strong>rain or shine<\/strong>, so we encourage guests to plan for all types of weather and bring rain jackets, hats, and sunscreen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a reminder, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/commencement\/\">Commencement website<\/a>&nbsp;remains the best resource for weekend details and updates. We can\u2019t wait to celebrate the Class of 2026 with you and your student in just a few short days!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Best from campus,<br>The Bates Parent Team<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>PS: Looking for a past Commencement email update?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/email-updates-1\/#senior-families\">Find them all here<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/files\/2026\/03\/Commencement-2026.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/files\/2026\/03\/Commencement-2026-900x300.webp\" alt=\"Bates Commencement\" class=\"wp-image-6084\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/files\/2026\/03\/Commencement-2026-900x300.webp 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/files\/2026\/03\/Commencement-2026-400x133.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/files\/2026\/03\/Commencement-2026-768x256.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/files\/2026\/03\/Commencement-2026-1200x400.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/files\/2026\/03\/Commencement-2026.webp 1350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greetings, Bates Class of 2026 families \u2014 We are so excited to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1619,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[25,13,46],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-6301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-class-of-2026-families","category-email-updates","category-senior-families","tag-senior-families"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1619"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6301"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6313,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6301\/revisions\/6313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/parents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}