Staff Writer- Ethan LaLumiere
Many families will arrive in St. Peter for the first time since move-in day for the annual Gustavus tradition of Family Weekend. It’s a chance for families to see each other for a weekend, which isn’t otherwise accessible to some students. The college plans events for the weekend on all three days for families to enjoy.
Friday kicks off the weekend with the opportunity for families to visit classes throughout the day, showing some of what their students’ daily life is like on campus. All a cappella organizations perform in the evening on Friday, and that night is the sibling sleepover. Siblings of students are invited to spend the night in the dorms if they want to, and there will be food, activities, and games for a fun night.
“Family Weekend is something that Gustavus puts on for students and their families to come to campus and have a time to connect on campus,” Student Engagement Coordinator Kadyn Triebenbach said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for families that haven’t been on campus or are looking for an opportunity to come back with some programming involved, and it’s a fun way to interact with students.”
The Campus Activities Office has been planning many different events for Family Weekend to make sure everyone has a great time.
“We have a great team of people that signed up to do different fun experiences. We have a comedian coming, we have someone hosting trivia on campus, and we have bingo, so there’s a lot of fun things to do that weekend,” Triebenbach said.
Many of these events take place on Saturday, which starts out with a trio of events at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.. These events range from a study abroad planning session in the St. Peter Room, an adjusting to college workshop in the President’s Dining Room, and even an escape room hosted by the Center for Career Development.
“There’s also the opportunity to meet [GAC’s] President John Volin for ice cream. We call it ‘Ice Cream Social and Selfies with President Volin’. He’s really excited to meet all the Gustie families and continue to interact with students,” Triebenbach said. “He’s been super great being a new face on campus and really getting out there and connecting with students. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to connect with families.”
In the afternoon, there’s Family Bingo at 12:30 p.m. in the dining hall, trivia in the Heritage Room at 2:30 p.m., and a soccer doubleheader against Carleton. There’s also the Arboretum Fall Fest from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., featuring treasure hunts, animals, hayrides, nature, and more!
“Fall Fest is a day on family weekend where we just invite everyone to come out to the arboretum and just enjoy the weather and fall foliage. We have hayrides, live animals, alpacas, live reptiles, and amphibians,” Arboretum Director Scott Moeller said.
“We have games for big people and little people. The sustainability crew will come out and have a sustainability table. We’ll have some educational tables where you can kind of test your tree knowledge. It’s really fun.”
Anyone is welcome to attend the event, and many have in the past, with over 1,000 having attended when the weather was good.
“What I love about Fall Fest is it’s a really great mixer of Gusties and non-Gusties. We have people come up from St. Peter and Mankato, and it’s just a nice day. Hopefully, we get good weather. It’s a great opportunity to showcase the campus, showcase the arboretum, and get people into the arboretum who maybe haven’t been here before. We also do a treasure hunt that sends you out into the far reaches of the arboretum, down the trails,” Moeller said.
In the evening, there’s volleyball against Augsburg in Lund at 5:00 p.m., Muse being performed by Gustavus Theatre & Dance at 6:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday in the Arboretum with tickets available, and Gustavus is hosting a comedian, Chinedu Unaka, at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night in Alumni Hall.
“We have a comedian coming, Chinedu Unaka is coming on Saturday night, so it’ll be super fun. I’m excited. Some students saw him at an event off campus and we’re all really excited to have him here,” Triebenbach said.
On Sunday, there’s the Sunday Worship Service in Christ Chapel at 10:30 a.m., kicking off a day full of musical festivities to wrap up Family Weekend.
“It’s going to be a worship service put on by the Chaplain’s office. Beginning at 10:00 will be a pre-service concert including the Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra and Gustavus Wind Symphony,” Associate Director of Choral Activities and Conductor of the Choir of Christ Chapel as well as the Lucia Singers, Dr. Andrew Kendall ‘15 said. “During the service, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will be my two ensembles, as well as the Christ Chapel Ringers. Immediately after the service, the Gustavus Jazz Collective is doing a little set.”
Later on Sunday, there’s the Family Weekend Concert, also in Christ Chapel at 1:30 p.m. It will feature the Gustavus Choir, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra, the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, and the Gustavus Jazz Ensemble.
“Family Weekend is the first public performance for most of our ensembles across the department, but it’s really the first opportunity to perform. We get to perform for our people, our families, our friends, and people that are more local here. It’s really a good opportunity to start our year off strong,” Kendall said.