Last week, students all across campus were decked out in gold and purple, while houses in the Greek Community decorated their lawns with UW memorabilia — all in the spirit of Homecoming Week.

The week began with the 23rd annual Dawg Dash. Participants in the Dash were allowed to run or walk the five kilometer course or run the 10 kilometer course through campus. The first-place male and female finishers were each given a $75 Road Runner Sports gift certificate. Each year, the Dash raises at least $10,000 in scholarships for UW students.

In the Greek community, several houses decorated their yards in purple and gold. A large Husky helmet covered Phi Gamma Delta’s lawn while a guillotine, complete with a toy beaver, added to the display.

“I like looking at all of them; it’s fun when people get creative,” sophomore Samantha Reinertson said. “It connects the Greek system to the school when everyone’s all rallied up.”

On Tuesday, the Puget Sound Blood Center held a blood drive, while McMahon 8 hosted a Remember the Titans movie night. Visitors to the Terry main lounge watched The Raggedy Anns perform live Wednesday night.

Thursday’s UW Engineering Lecture Series hosted professor Yoky Matsuoka. In her lecture entitled, “Where Humans and Robots Connect,” she talked about her goal to build the ultimate prosthetic hand that can be controlled by the brain.

Many members of the Greek community and students from the residence halls headed to the IMA fields for a co-ed flag football game Thursday. Called the Homecoming Week Flag Football Challenge, all money raised was donated to Camp Erin, a camp designed for children who have experienced the death of a loved one.

Culminating the sprit of this week was the Homecoming Rally. Gov. Chris Gregoire proclaimed Friday “Purple and Gold Day.”

According to the UW Homecoming Web site, Gregoire said, “I urge all citizens to don purple and gold in honor of this world-class institution, and its positive impact on our local, state, national and world communities.”

The “UW Pride in 5” winners were announced at the rally. Contestants had to prove they were the ultimate Husky fan by capturing their “Husky fever” in a video of five seconds or less.

The three winners were awarded cash prizes, and their videos were shown on the Huskytron during the Homecoming game.

Reinertson loved getting into the competitive spirit.

“I loved that everyone dressed up in husky colors and [came] together to celebrate,” she said.

Homecoming Week rounded off with the football game against Oregon State and the announcement of the two homecoming royalty scholarships during the game. Graduate student Skylee Robinson and senior Courtney Hampson both won $1,000 scholarships from the University of Washington Alumni Association.

Reach reporter Nicole Ciridon at news@dailyuw.com.