Friday, May 8, 2026

UNCW students to move in this weekend, inaugural HawkFest to launch

The UNCW Board of Trustees will soon include a new group of private sector moguls and a Republican politician. (Port City Daily/Preston Lennon)

WILMINGTON — UNCW is preparing for another school year, with students planned to move in Aug. 15-16.

READ MORE: 10% of incoming UNCW freshmen to be placed in overflow housing 

UNCWelcome hosts varied events as new and returning Seahawks begin a new school year. This includes the inaugural HawkFest on Monday, Aug. 18, to feature carnival games, mechanical rides, food trucks, live entertainment and a drone show.

Other events include:

  • Dub After Dark: Saturday, Aug. 16
  • Convocation and Campus Lunch: Tuesday, Aug. 19
  • Rock the Rec: Tuesday, Aug. 19
  • First Day of Classes Yard Show: Wednesday, Aug. 20
  • Involvement Carnival: Tuesday, Aug. 26 

UNCW has nearly 19,000 students and will celebrate its 78th anniversary on Sept. 4. Learn more about the new school year events here.


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Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

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