The University’s annual Family Weekend, where the University opens its campus to students’ families for a weekend of campus-sponsored activities, will be held Sept. 21-23. Beginning Sept. 21, hundreds of family members will arrive on campus to experience the University. The activities offered this weekend range from arts, athletics, academics, food, and religious life.

Arts

The University is offering a wide range of activities in the arts this weekend. Some activities include the University Symphonic and Jazz bands performance in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts and the theater showcase: Women and Wallace, located in Tustin Studio Theatre. Both of these events are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

Mocktails and Masterpieces will be held in Uptown at 8 p.m., where students and their families can paint portraits based on photographs along with an array of non-alcoholic cocktails and cheese, fruit, and chocolate desserts.

On Saturday the 7th Street Studio and the Makerspace will also be hosting an open house, where families can make various crafts. The open house will be held from noon until 5 p.m.

Christy’s A Cappella Concert, a University tradition featuring various student a cappella groups will also occur on Saturday. The Offbeats, The Silhouettes, Beyond Unison, and Two Past Midnight will be performing that evening. The a cappella groups include female and co-ed groups. The concert will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Weis Center for the Performing Arts. General admission is $10 per ticket and can be purchased online or at the box office.

Athletics

Students and families are encouraged to attend athletic events this weekend including a Volleyball vs. Navy game at 7 p.m. on Friday, a golf tournament at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Men’s soccer vs. Lafayette at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Emmitt Varsity Soccer Stadium, and Volleyball vs. American University at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Davis Gym.

Academics

On Friday, families will have the opportunity to sit in on certain classes from various disciplines offered from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some open classes include Pop & Protest, Geotechnical Engineering, Philosophy of Laughter, Making Sense of the Sixties, Our Material World, Water Movement & the Environment, and Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology. The times and locations for all of these classes can be found in the Family Weekend Brochure online.

Families are also encouraged to attend a wide range of information sessions and discussions offered throughout the weekend. Some information sessions and discussions include Fraternity and Sorority Recruitment, Pre-Health, Pre-Law, and the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy Panel discussion on Trade Wars and Borders: The U.S., the U.K. and the World.

Between 8:30 and 11:30 on Friday evening, the University observatory is hosting an open house where families will have the opportunity to see the stars and galaxies through telescopes. Other information sessions and discussions include study abroad, physics and astronomy, and the Bucknell on the Camino de Santiago summer study abroad session.

An academic activity to note are the faculty snap talks given by professors from a diverse range of disciplines including management, theater and dance, political science, education, civil and environmental engineering, and computer science. During a faculty snap talk, each professor who is speaking presents a brief presentation on their scholarship and research. The topics that will be presented include “Turns Out Community Matters: Deeply Experiential Learning in Management 101” by Associate Professor of Management Jamie Hendry, “Live! On Stage: Performance as an Everyday Practice” by Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance Dustyn Martincich, “The Arab Spring” by Associate Professor of Political Science Tony Massoud, “Why Do We Need Public Education?” by Professor of Education Sue Ellen Henry, “Engineering at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus” by Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Deborah Sills, and “Is Tech for People or are People for Tech?” by Assistant Professor of Computer Science Evan Peck.

Food

The University will be offering various opportunities for families to get a taste of food on campus. On Friday is “Dinner in the Tent,” which includes live music performed by Runaway Stroller beginning at 6 p.m. and will be hosted next to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

On Saturday, there will be a Carnival lunch in the tent at 12 p.m., next to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium followed by a tent party beginning at 8:30 p.m. where the Urban Guerilla Orchestra will be performing again this year. On Sunday, there will be a jazz brunch and bagel brunch in the Terrace Room, beginning at 9 a.m.

Religious Life

The various religious organizations on campus will be hosting a number of events families can attend this weekend. On Friday at 1 p.m. there will be a Congregational Prayer at the Muslim Community Space, as well as a Shabbat Service and dinner at 6:30 p.m. in Arches Lounge sponsored by Jewish life. Also on Friday is a Muslim Students’ Association Fall banquet. Catholic mass will occur on Saturday and Sunday and an interdenominational worship service will also happen at 11 a.m. on Sunday in Rooke Chapel.

Outdoors

Students and families also have the opportunity to get outside this weekend before it starts to get cold. Bikes, canoes, kayaks and other equipment will be available for rent from the Outdoor Education and Leadership Rental Center. Local outdoors sites include Dale’s Ridge Trail, a 2-mile hiking trail beginning at the historic Dale/Engle/Walker farmstead and includes scenic views from the ridge, and the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail, a 9.2-mile bike and pedestrian trail that links Lewisburg and Mifflinburg. There are also various stops along the Rail Trail you can visit, such as a local brewery and an ice cream shop. Additionally, students and families can access the Susquehanna River near the Outdoor Education and Leadership Rental Center at the University’s landing and paddle down the Susquehanna, or take a walk along the river.