Grab Your Girls, We’re Going to Convention!

Sigma Alpha National Convention | Alumnae Weekend 

July 23-25, 2027 in Austin, Texas

The road to 50 starts here. Our year-long 50th anniversary celebration kicks off in Austin, and we want you there.

Registration will open soon! 

Want to give back? See Coach the Next Generation below to volunteer with our collegiate members for the full convention.

Leave the driving to us. Our chartered bus leaves Austin at 8:30 a.m. for Waco, home of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia, with a grab-and-go breakfast for the ride. Spend the day shopping, eating and exploring together, and be back at the hotel by about 5:30 p.m., in time to freshen up for cocktails. 

What’s waiting for you at Magnolia: 

• Magnolia Market at the Silos, Jo’s original home shop, with candles, florals, kitchen tools, tableware and clothing. 

• Six boutique Shops at the Silos, including the Flower Shoppe, where you build your own faux bouquet wrapped in kraft paper, plus Homebody, Weekend, the Art of Entertaining, No. 16 and the Souvenir Shop. 

• Magnolia Home, for furniture, rugs and seasonal decor. 

• Silos Baking Co. and its signature cupcakes, as seen on Fixer Upper. 

• Lunch on the lawn from the rotating food trucks, or under the white umbrellas and string lights on the patio. 

• Magnolia Press Coffee Co., Jo’s library-inspired coffee shop, for an afternoon pick-me-up. 

• Guided tours with rooftop views of the silos. 

Friday evening: cocktails with your sisters 

Whether you spent the day in Waco or just flew in, everyone meets up at 6:30 p.m. for a no-host cocktail hour. Then head out to dinner on your own with your alumnae sisters. 

Austin After dark

Thursday night and Friday after dinner are yours. A few favorites: 

• The Congress Avenue Bridge bats. About 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats fly out at dusk, and late July is peak season. Watching from the bridge or the bat viewing area on the south bank is free or see it from a kayak or boat on Lady Bird Lake. 

• South Congress, for shopping, patios and people-watching. 

• Rainey Street, a row of bungalow bars made for a sisters’ night out. 

• Sixth Street, East Austin and Red River, for live music in the Live Music Capital of the World. 

• Hidden speakeasy bars around downtown, for a quieter catch-up. 

Prefer to give back? Join us for the full convention as an alumnae volunteer, working side by side with our collegiate members. Volunteers are the heart of convention’s career programming: 

• • Coach collegiate members one on one on their goals and next steps. 

• • Help prep and manage a career fair and connect students with opportunities across agriculture. 

• • Conduct practice interviews and share the feedback that lands internships and jobs. 

Volunteers arrive with the collegiate members on Wednesday, July 21, and spend convention with them, then join their alumnae sisters for the Friday cocktail hour and the Emerald Banquet. Full Convention registration is $500. 

We’re starting late so you can enjoy your morning. Join alumnae from across the country for a continental breakfast at 9:45 a.m., with the program starting at 10:00. You’ll: 

• • Be there for the launch of Sigma Alpha’s new alumnae program and vision. 

• • Get a first look at the future of collegiate programming, from growing chapters to career-connected learning for members. 

• • Have lunch with our collegiate sisters. 

• • Celebrate 50 years together at our 50th anniversary celebration and conversation at 1:00 p.m., and hear how we’ll celebrate over the coming year. 

• • Find new ways to reconnect and get involved with Sigma Alpha. 

• • See a fresh new Sigma Alpha before anyone else. 

The program wraps up by about 2:00 p.m., leaving the afternoon free before the 7:00 p.m. banquet. 

With the program wrapped by 2:00, the afternoon is yours until the Emerald Banquet at 7:00 p.m. Grab a few sisters and pick your pace: 

• • Sip Texas wine. Take a short Uber downtown to Texas Reds and Whites, a women-owned tasting room pouring wines from more than 100 Texas vineyards, steps from Rainey Street and Sixth Street. Or head about 10 minutes south of downtown to The Austin Winery, the first grape-to-glass winery in the city limits. 

• • Lounge by the pool. Stay put and soak up the Texas sun at the hotel’s outdoor pool. 

• • Catch your breath. Rest up, then get glammed up together for the banquet. 

Choose Sisters’ Day Out ($300) or Friday Arrival ($225) or Join the Full Convention as a Volunteer ($500)

Registration opening soon

Watch your inbox and our social media for exciting announcements!

The AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 University Avenue, a beautiful four-star hotel on the University of Texas at Austin campus, steps from the UT Tower and a short ride to downtown. Grab tacos and happy hour on the patio at Gabriel’s Cafe, or dinner at The Carillon.

Room block and rate: [details coming soon]

Top off the weekend with our collegiate members at the Emerald Banquet. Together we’ll celebrate 50 years of the life-changing work of Sigma Alpha and its chapters and celebrate milestone chapter anniversaries. Come reconnect with your sisters and with the sorority that brought you together.