OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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CORVALLIS - Oregon State University popular Dad's Weekend celebration is being held Nov. 5-7 this school year - three months earlier than in previous years.
A number of factors were considered in making the change, said Machelle Kennedy, coordinator for OSU's Memorial Union Program Council, which sponsors the event.
Traditionally, more than 3,000 fathers of OSU students arrive for the three-day weekend of shows, exhibits and activities, many of which are free and open to the public.
"We thought the weather might be better in early November than in February," Kennedy said, "and a number of people expressed interest in holding Dad's Weekend during football season, so there would be a chance to see a game."
Also, last year OSU revived it's winter celebration of Sibling's Weekend, an event in which students invite brothers and sisters to campus.
"Because we now have Sibling's Weekend, moving Dad's Weekend to November just spreads events out a little better for us," Kennedy said.
This year, Dad's Weekend features more than 30 activities, including car and model airplane shows, tours and a football tailgater.
Activities begin on Friday, Nov. 5, when students are encouraged to take their fathers to classes or to OSU's Dixon Recreation Center, where dads will have free access to swimming, basketball courts, weight machines and a variety of other fitness activities. Friday evening offers a choice between a comedy show, an OSU basketball game and screenings of the 1999 science-fiction film, "The Matrix."
Featured events on Saturday include the OSU football game, a barbecue and a ballroom dance. The entire schedule follows:
--- MUPC welcomes dads with root beer floats, information, schedules, tickets, through 6 p.m.
--- MU Concourse. Root beer floats, $3 for one or $5 for two.
--- Screening of the feature film, "The Matrix, encore screening at 9:30 p.m. Milam Auditorium, $4.
--- Men's basketball game: OSU vs. Athletes in Action, Gill Coliseum.
--- MUPC Comedy Club, featuring Don Friesen, a young father and business school graduate who explores the dilemma within his own life and marriage. Valley Football Center, $10.
Dads get in free at Dixon Recreation Center; self-guided tours of Valley Library.
--- Dad and I Run/Walk, proceeds go to Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity's philanthropy fund. MU Quad $10 entry fee for each dad and student team includes T-shirt.
--- Bowling, through 2 p.m., MU Recreation Center. Prizes, $6, "Rock & Glow Bowling," continues through midnight.
--- Hot air balloon rides through 1 p.m., Library Quad, $2 for one, $3 for two.
--- MUPC Silent Auction, through 6 p.m., MU East Concourse.
--- Root beer floats, through 2 p.m., MU Concourse, $3 for one $5 for two.
--- University Honors College Dad's Drop-in Reception, through noon, Strand Agricultural Hall, Room 30.
--- Outdoor Expo, MU Brick Mall, through 4 p.m. east end of Quad, free.
--- Classic car show and transport show, through 4 p.m., McAlexander Fieldhouse, free.
--- Radio airplane show, through 1 p.m., intramural fields, free.
--- Radiation Center tours, through noon, free.
Motivational author and speaker, Michael Modzelewski gives a 90-minute slide presentation on "Triumph of the Spirit," an account of survival in the wilderness.
Pre-game tailgater and lunch, through 12:30 p.m., CH2M Hill Alumni Center.
Barbecue and tours of Weatherford Hall, including live music from "Hart & Soul," through 2 p.m., Weatherford Hall, $10.
Screening of "The Matrix," with encore presentations at 7 and 9:30 p.m., Milam Auditorium, $4.
OSU football vs. University of California, Berkeley. Reser Stadium.
Dad and I Dinner Buffet, with swing band, MU Lounge, $12.
Ballroom dance, MU ballroom.
Dad's Weekend Golf Tournament, information, 541-737-6872.
Machelle Kennedy, 541-737-6872
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