Brick City Homecoming Festival promotional materials

The first Brick City Festival was held in 1998 at Rochester Institute of Technology. The festival is an all-campus celebration encompassing Family Weekend, Alumni Weekend and Reunions, and was created to engage alumni, students, parents, families, faculty, staff, and friends of RIT in the life of the university. Typical events included receptions, lectures, concerts, children's activities, community tours, exhibits, and workshops. The number of events grew rapidly with each passing year. Festivals were held each Fall at the Henrietta campus, until 2010 when they were replaced by Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend.

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was originally located in the city of Rochester, NY. Due to the rapid growth in enrollment and programs following World War II, it became increasingly clear that the school would have to expand. Emil Muller, an RIT graduate, helped the university obtain 1300 acres of farmland in the suburb of Henrietta. Ground was broken on November 2, 1964 and by September 1968 the first classes were held. The Henrietta campus now contains well over 200 buildings, most of which are constructed of brick. In 2006, RIT President William Destler estimated the number of bricks in campus construction at over 14.5 million. As such, RIT is affectionately known as Brick City.