On October 1, UT will be hosting their annual Family Weekend. Various UT organizations are holding activities that will give families a chance to learn about the campus and community and what it has to offer UT students.
The events kick off on Friday at 12 p.m. Families can register for activities in Vaughn Center, where free massages will be given.
The events throughout the weekend include a tour of the Henry B. Plant Museum, a viewing of the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery exhibits, a ghost tour, the Minaret Climb (where participants climb to the top of the minarets), a production of A Night at the
Movies IV: From the Stage to the Silver Screen (performed by the UT Wind Ensemble), and the screening of Toy Story 3.
In addition to these free activities, families have the option of participating in even more events at an extra cost.
On Saturday Oct. 2, a yacht outing has been scheduled for a lunch cruise in the bay. This premiere dining yacht is leaving from Channelside Dock for a two and a half hour boat tour of Tampa.
“Last year my parents and I did the Minaret Climb, which was awesome,” said sophomore Emily Schwartz. “This year I can’t wait to do the lunch cruise on the yacht around Tampa.”
UT is continuing their tradition with the 8th Annual UT Family Weekend Golf Outing, which will take place at the Pebble Creek
Golf Club where “each hole is unlike the other, varied and unique in its challenges — you won’t be bored,” according to pebblecreekclub.com.
The school is also offering a package for the Florida Aquarium and restaurants and bars at Channelside.
The package includes tickets to the Florida Aquarium and 20% off or more on food and beverages at Bennigans, Splitsville,Tinatapas, N.Y.P.D. Pizza Delicatessen and Cold Stone Creamery. These packages are available for purchase Friday and Saturday during registration.
But something else happens on campus this weekend: the food gets better.
Many say that the food quality increases around this time of year.
“My parents don’t come down for Family Weekend, but I love it,” said senior Keith Piesco. “It’s like another company comes in to make the food for the weekend because it tastes so good.”
Some students say that the food in the cafeteria is affected the most in that it looks and tastes better when parents come in to town.
“The cafeteria food is way better on Family Weekend, most likely to make parents think their money is going towards something other than an abundance of palm trees,” said senior Andy Eicher.
Whether your parents come to visit or not, UT’s Family Weekend offers a variety of activities for everyone.
Cara Fetzer can be reached at cmfetzer@spartans.ut.edu.