Parents coming to town? Here's what you can do this family weekend

Family weekend has arrived and the University of Richmond has organized a lengthy calendar of events. Not sure where to take your family? Here are some highlights and ideas for the weekend. 

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, the Jepson Alumni Center will be a welcome center for visiting families. The center will have staff members prepped and ready to answer questions, give directions and provide refreshments. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. 

To view the full list of UR events this weekend, check the family weekend schedule. Events range from student musical performances to Saturday’s football game against Stony Brook University. 

“Look at the schedule and see what's important to you or what's important to your parents and really try to map it out in advance,” said Alicia Engels, UR’s assistant director of events and support services who helped organize the weekend. 

Friday’s events include open houses with on-campus organizations and services. They are staggered throughout the day so families can attend as many as they want. The open houses lineup includes the Well-Being Center, Academic Skills Center, Speech and Writing Centers, International Education, Disability Services and many others. 

Heilman Dining Center is hosting a Family Weekend Welcome dinner to kick off the weekend. The menu includes a Southern BBQ Bar, a made-to-order Mongolian entree and different options from Bruce’s and Plant Life. Check out the full menu here.

The Department of Music Family Weekend Concert will be in Camp Concert Hall in the Booker Hall of Music at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. This concert will feature performances from several UR student musical ensembles and choirs. The concert is free and no ticket is required. 

On Saturday, UR has organized a Spider Tailgate from noon to 2 p.m. outside the Robins Center. 

“You can bring anyone: your family or even just your friends are welcome to come to hang out,” Engels said. “There's some music, there's food available for purchase, there are giveaways and a really cool raffle.”

Tailgate passes are not required for this event. There will be food trucks from Slideways Mobile Bistro, Boka Tako and Jiji Frozen Custard. 

The Spiders and Stony Brook kick off at 2 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here. 

Sophomore Andrea Valderrama said she’s looking forward to going to the game with her parents. 

“My parents are from Colombia, and so they went to college in Colombia,” Valderrama said. “I really just want to share the American college experience and for them to see the difference and get experiences that they think that they didn't get to experience when they went to college.”

Not a football fan? Saturday also features three “Meet the Dean” events for the Jepson School of Leadership, Robins School of Business and the School of Arts and Sciences. 

“These events are a big takeaway for families because they get to sort of a slice of that academic side of things that their students get to experience on a daily basis,” Engels said. 

Family weekend is also a great opportunity to explore the city of Richmond. First-year Josh Walker’s parents are visiting and he is looking forward to getting in some off-campus time, he said. He said he wanted to take his parents to a Korean fried chicken restaurant in Carytown that he liked.

“I haven't had a chance to get off of campus much since I got here,” Walker said. “I'm most excited about going around the city with my parents.” 

Contact lifestyle editor Corinne Flaherty at corinne.flaherty@richmond.edu.