Nearly 5,000 visitors are expected for this year's fall Family Weekend at the University of Colorado at Boulder, which is hosted by the CU-Boulder Parents Association.
The Oct. 19-21 weekend event enables parents and other family members to visit students on campus and to participate in activities including a golf tournament, musical performances, a 5K fun run and walk, a faculty awards ceremony and the Colorado-Kansas football game, which will kickoff at 3:45 p.m. Saturday.
"Registration to this year's event has been so overwhelming that event organizers were forced to close ticket sales for many activities," said George "Barney" Ballinger, director of the CU-Boulder Office of Parent Relations.
However, he noted, visitors can still participate in many of the other activities listed on the office's Web site at .
"Who can blame parents for clamoring to visit their children during one of the most colorful seasons on one of the most beautiful campuses?" Ballinger said. "This event enables parents to see our university through their children's eyes and enjoy the amenities the Boulder community has to offer visitors."
This year's activities will include field trips to local places of interest such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research and talks on topics such as "How to Help Your Son's or Daughter's Career Development" sponsored by the campus Career Services office.
The "Buffalo Family Stampede," a 5K run/walk that will be held Sunday, Oct. 21, has attracted more than 525 participants. "The great thing about the stampede is that all of the money generated by the event will be donated to the CU-Boulder Student Union indigent health-care fund to assist fee-paying students who cannot cover the cost of their health care," Ballinger said.
On Friday, Oct. 19, CU-Boulder Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson will greet visiting parents during a welcome luncheon in the Glenn Miller Ballroom. Later in the day, he will introduce newly tenured faculty members during the second-annual Fall Convocation Awards Ceremony.