Athens and Home Depot will have something in common this weekend: both will be full of dads.
Family Weekends hold a certain notoriety at Ohio University, and next up on the list is Dads Weekend.
The university has planned a variety of events for students to take their dads and father figures to, such as a comedy show, a stargazing trip, a day hike and more.
Morgan Johns, a freshman studying community and public health, is looking to participate in these events.
“We might go to the comedy show, and then I was looking at making dinner reservations for us,” she said.
Aside from the university events that can be found here, there will also be an OU hockey game against West Virginia, a free casino event and a nine-hole golf scramble.
Hailey Gifford, a graduate student in the environmental studies program, is looking forward to taking advantage of these events hosted by the school.
“If me and my dad want to go do a university event, I'm not going to be worried that we're going to be the only ones there,” she said. “I'm going to know somebody else there with their dad most likely.”
There is something for everyone this weekend, and no matter what plans students have, it is going to be very crowded in Athens this weekend.
“I like that it's busy,” Gifford said. “I like that there's always people out doing something.”
As for other Dads Weekend plans, Gifford plans to do a lot of hiking with her dad at Strouds Run State Park.
“My dad has camped there before and he really loves it, so we take my dog and we go hiking,” she said. “Bagel Street and hiking are on our agenda.”
Even though many people try to make plans in advance for this weekend, sometimes a set itinerary is not always the main focus of the weekend. It can be great to just spend some quality time with family.
“I also just like seeing my dad because he's really busy and we live four hours away from each other right now, so it's really nice,” Gifford said.
Elaina Edgington, a freshman studying strategic leadership and management, feels the same way.
“I'm looking forward to just spending time with my dad,” she said. “I haven't had that much time to spend time with him since I left.”
Getting through the first semester of college can be intimidating for some freshmen, but Dads Weekend can give some sense of familiarity in a new environment.
“(I’m looking forward to) my dad being able to see campus more kind of like how everything's been going so far because he hasn't been able to visit that much this semester,” Johns said.
Having a specific weekend for family members to come to visit encourages more families to do just that.
“It's a designated time for (my) dad because he's like, okay, now I have to come because it's for dads,” Gifford said.
Spending a weekend in Athens with family will always lead to the creation of new memories.
“It’s just going to be a fun weekend to see all the families out and it's supposed to be really nice, so I just think it'll be fun for everyone hopefully,” Johns said.
