ASU's Family Weekend just keeps growing
ASU's Family Weekend allows parents to reunite with their kids in fun, communal environments filled with activities and food.
This year, ASU’s Family Weekend will mean a lot more than Mom and Dad visiting their freshman student on campus.
The annual event will include the whole Sun Devil family — transfer students, commuters and young people whose parents aren’t able to visit.
Arizona State University has held Family Weekend for several years, but participation has skyrocketed recently, according to Zachary Reeves-Blurton, program manager for ASU’s Family Programs office.
About 1,700 people registered for Family Weekend in 2012, and this year’s event has 6,200 signed up.
“Every year has been a record for us,” Reeves-Blurton said.
The event has become so popular that last year students whose families couldn’t attend said they still wanted to be included. So one new event this year is “Friday Fest,” which will feature competitive games, food and music on the intramural fields at the Tempe campus.
Non-traditional students might have families of their own and are less interested in the traditional football-game spirit activities. So this year’s weekend includes a family-friendly movie and kids’ games at “Memorial Union After Dark.”
Reeves-Blurton said the Family Programs office has worked with campus groups to make the event as inclusive as possible.
“Whatever description of ‘family’ you can think of, it’s represented at Family Weekend,” he said.
Here are some of the weekend’s attractions. Several colleges have their own events. For a full list of festivities, click here. For more information, call 480-965-2880.
Tempe campus
ASU Police open house
2:30-4 p.m. Sept. 25
ASU Police Department, 325 Apache Blvd., Tempe
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the station and fleet vehicles and talk to the chief. You can also meet Disney, the department’s canine who’s trained to find weapons, and learn how she keeps the ASU community safe.
Friday Fest
5-7 p.m. Sept. 25
Sun Devil Fitness Complex intramural fields, Tempe campus
Students can join their residential communities for competitive field games, food and music. Families are welcome.
Sun Devil Family Barbecue
5-7 p.m. Sept. 25
Interdisciplinary A/B Lawn, Tempe campus
A family event for graduate, transfer and commuter students, with kid-friendly games and an interactive presentation by students in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts' Theatre for Youth program.
Memorial Union After Dark
6-9 p.m. Sept. 25
Memorial Union and Hayden Mall
A family-friendly edition of MUAD, with an outdoor showing of the animated film “Big Hero 6” and kids’ activities.
Sparky’s “A” Mountain Spirit Hike
9-10 a.m. Sept. 26
Veterans Way Transit Hub
Hike to the iconic “A” on Tempe Butte, take a selfie and paint the “A” gold for the game. Meet at the Veterans Way Transit Hub before the hike up the mountain.
Signature Barbecue
4:30 p.m. Sept. 26
Tempe City Hall Patio, 31 E. Fifth St.
Enjoy a tailgate-style barbecue before heading to the stadium for the football game between ASU and USC. Registration and tickets are required, with a limited number of tickets sold at the door.
Barrett, The Honors College
Families with students in Barrett, The Honors College at the Tempe Campus can have breakfast, meet faculty and participate in a mock “Human Event” class from 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 26. Barrett families at the Downtown Phoenix campus can tour Chase Field on Friday and meet faculty afterward.
Downtown Phoenix campus
The campus' Family Field Day will feature sack races, tug-of-war and other games from 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Sun Devil Fitness Complex, 350 N. First Ave., Phoenix. That will be followed by the “Devil Yell” spirit event from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Student Center, 522 N. Central Ave. Close out Friday night by watching the animated film “Inside Out” at 7 p.m. at Civic Space Park, 424 N. Central Ave.
Polytechnic campus
The Poly Engineering Car Show will showcase vehicles created by students in the ASU Chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Sun Devil Fitness Complex. That will be followed by Italian food and bocce ball from 6 to 8 p.m. At 8 p.m., families can head over to Cooley Ballrooms for an interactive murder-mystery game that includes dessert.
West campus
The Family Fork-Out will be held 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 25 at Casa de Oro Residence Hall, followed by an 8 p.m. screening of the movie “Inside Out” in the quad.