By Anne Halliwell

[email protected]

Family Weekend, spanning activities from Friday through Sunday, used a mix of campus and community events to introduce families to some of the fall attractions Lexington offers, said student affairs officer Nancy Stephens of New Student and Parent Programs.

“We just try to show parents, ‘This is what a typical weekend for your student could look like,’” Stephens said.

The UK Parent Association and NSPP are just two of the campus-based organizations who create events like the Parent Association’s pre-game tent party Saturday morning or Sunday morning’s Donut Trail by NSPP, which saw about 300 UK family members consuming pastries from local producers, Stephens said.

Education Abroad and the UK International Center also held an International Tent and tailgating event, according to the 2014 Family Weekend guide, and the College of Public Health visited with families in their own tent before the UK vs. ULM game Saturday afternoon.

The Family Weekend guide also listed community events like horse racing at the Keeneland Racetrack and the Lexington Farmers’ market as possible attractions later in the weekend.

UK colleges also held smaller information sessions throughout the weekend and offered families opportunities to meet with faculty and staff.

Sunday afternoon, a small group of UK students and parents headed to Spindletop Hall for a lunch with UK administrators and faculty, including the deans of some academic colleges, Stephens said, which allowed families an opportunity to connect with staff who they normally might now.

Some families also enjoy seeing the same UK staff organizing and working at family events through the year, Stephens said, because it affords them the ability to find familiar faces at a large school.

“A lot of times, the families like the chance to break down the ‘bigness’ of the university,” Stephens said.