Jenna Crowe
Staff Writer
Not all students at ISU have a method of transportation to visit family members, but the LEAD Center has provided a solution: family weekend.
Registration for family weekend is currently available on the LEAD website. Family weekend takes place October 21-23 and is centered around introducing families to the life that their children have at ISU.
This weekend offers many activities, including sporting events and a showing of The Turn of the Screw.
On October 21, family check-in begins at 5 p.m. To check in, students and their families will need to go to the campus connection desk in the Student Union Building. During check-in, families will receive tickets to events they are signed up for as well as family weekend t-shirts provided by the LEAD Center.
Then, at 6 p.m., families are welcome to attend the Family Weekend Celebration Dinner in the ballroom located in the SUB. The cost for dinner tickets is $8 for adults and $4 for children between ages four and 11.
The first showing of The Turn of the Screw is that night at 7:30 p.m. This classic novel by Henry James is depicted by the School of Performing Arts throughout the weekend and will be performed in the Bistline Theatre at the Stephens Performing Arts Center.
“I’m really excited for the play because I love theatre,” said Skye Koivula, a freshman at ISU.
A voucher for a reduced-price ticket is available through family weekend registration.
For families that wish to see the play later that weekend, bowling and billiards are offered from 7:30 p.m. on October 21 to 1 a.m. on October 22 in the game center on the first floor of the SUB. Free bowling passes are available with registration.
If families are interested in seeing a movie instead, the Bengal Theater is airing the 2016 rendition of the classic Ghostbusters at 9:45 p.m. on October 21. ISU students get in for free with their Bengal ID, while families are able to receive free passes with registration.
On October 22, late check-in is available for families unable to attend the day before. The late check-in begins at 9 a.m. at the campus connection desk.
At the same time, Reed Gym is hosting two different climbing sessions: one from 9-10:30 a.m. and another from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The climbing wall is also free with family weekend registration.
The Idaho Museum of Natural History is participating by offering free tickets with registration. The museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on October 22, so families will have plenty of time to visit the museum as well as participate in other activities.
Bowling and billiards are offered once again, this time from 11 a.m. on October 22 to 1 a.m. on October 23.
Football fans will surely be drawn to the football tailgate from noon to 2 p.m. on October 22. Tailgaters will congregate outside of Holt Arena and will have a chance to participate in a pumpkin decorating contest. To tailgate and have a seat in the arena, the cost is $12 per person. However, the cost to tailgate only is $5 per person and watching the game in Holt Arena will only cost $8 per person. The game between ISU and the University of North Dakota starts at 2:35 p.m.
“Tailgates are a little too rowdy for my taste,” Koivula said. “I would recommend volleyball or bowling and billiards.”
The Bengal Theater will also be showing The Jungle Book at 1 and 3 p.m., as well as Ghostbusters again at 7 and 9:45 p.m. The Turn of the Screw will also be showing at 7:30 p.m.
The ISU women’s volleyball team will be taking to the court at 7 p.m. against Northern Colorado in Reed Gym. As always, ISU students get in for free with their ID, but tickets are available for family members with registration.
Family weekend concludes October 23 at 1 p.m. with a women’s soccer game on Davis Field against Northern Arizona. Families can get into the game for $3 with registration.
“Who wants to spend their college years locked in their dorm?” Koivula said. “People need to go out and have fun, and family weekend is a great opportunity to do that.”
