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Family Weekend 2023 will be fully in-person for first time in three years

Stanford is expecting record attendance for Family Weekend, Friday and Saturday, where families are invited to tours, open houses, lectures, performances, and more.

Stanford’s Family Weekend – taking place Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25 – is expected to break attendance records. A total of 6,020 people registered for the two-day event, up from the previous record of about 4,500 in 2020.

Stanford students Gabe Mukobi and Jacob Mukobi stop for a quick portrait with their parents at Family Weekend 2022. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)

Family Weekend is an annual event for families of undergraduate students to visit campus to get a glimpse into life on the Farm. In a recent message, President Marc Tessier-Lavigne encouraged families to attend.

“Over the course of the weekend, you’ll experience much of what makes Stanford special,” he wrote. “You’ll have the opportunity to explore our beautiful campus, attend an academic lecture, share meals with your student in their dining hall, and more.”

This year’s Family Weekend is the first to be fully in-person since 2020, with some virtual options for those unable to attend. Check-in begins Friday at 9 a.m. at the Arrillaga Center for Sports & Recreation (ACSR) at 341 Galvez St., across from the Stanford Alumni Center. There is a chance of rain on both days with breezy conditions and temperatures in the 40s and 50s. All events are scheduled to occur regardless of weather conditions and attendees should dress accordingly.

The weekend will kick off with a Welcome Q&A with Tessier-Lavigne, Provost Persis Drell, and other university administrators to discuss Stanford’s approach to undergraduate education, share their thoughts about the university’s role in serving the broader world, and take questions. The event will take place from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Memorial Auditorium and will be livestreamed, with viewing options at Cemex Auditorium, Bishop Auditorium, Hauck Auditorium, Blount Auditorium, and McCaw Hall.

Families are invited to enjoy complimentary lunch with their student in their neighborhood dining hall on Friday. Lunch is casual and all seating, both indoors and outdoors, will be first come, first served. Menus are available on the Residential & Dining Enterprises website.

This year marks the first Family Weekend since the opening of Stanford’s new residential neighborhoods. The Office of Special Events and Protocol (OSEP), which organized Family Weekend, is introducing new residence hall receptions for families to see where their students live and to meet with resident fellows and resident assistants. The Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Residential Education are organizing and presenting the receptions.

Throughout the weekend, families are encouraged to attend many open houses, including at Bechtel International Center, the Office of Military-Affiliated Communities, the Hume Center for Writing and Speaking, the Office of Religious & Spiritual Life, and Stanford’s many community centers. There will also be special topic discussions on career planning, mental health and well-being, careers for humanities and arts majors, and more.

Families are invited to academic lectures, including Transforming Healthcare with Big Data and Remote Monitoring, Education and Environmental Justice at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and Artful Design: Technology in Search of the Sublime!

Family Weekend will continue Saturday with a Resource Fair where families can learn about the various offices and units that serve students. Among the organizations participating are Academic Advising, Bing Overseas Studies Program, the Haas Center for Public Service, Office of Accessible Education, the Department of Public Safety, Recreation & Wellness, Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE), Stanford Financial Wellness: Mind Over Monday, and Vaden Health Center. The fair will take place Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation (ACSR) at 341 Galvez St.

Family Weekend will close with the Student Winter Showcase (presented by the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs) on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at White Plaza. It will feature live student music, dance performances, lawn games, snacks from local vendors, a Stanford Bookstore popup, photo booth, and an appearance by the Leland Stanford Jr. University Marching Band. The annual event is also known as Farm Day and this will be the first time it is incorporated into Family Weekend.

This weekend, a host of other events that are not affiliated with Family Weekend will occur across campus, including film screenings, sporting events, and museum tours. All are welcome to attend. A list of events is available online.

All Family Weekend guests must adhere to the travel policies and any other policies published on the Health Alerts website. There will be no verification of proof of vaccination or negative test status for Family Weekend attendees. However, as with all policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, this guidance is subject to changing health conditions. Masks and personal protective equipment will be available.

More information about Family Weekend, including a complete schedule of events, is available online.