There’s something for everyone at GW’s Colonials Weekend 2010 Oct. 15-17.
The weekend kicks off Friday afternoon with myriad events at GW’s Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses, including Colonials Invasion, which launches the basketball season and is called the “biggest show of GW spirit.”
On Saturday afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m., families and local residents will enjoy pumpkin carving, contests and fall desserts at the Mount Vernon Campus’ annual Octoberfest, the popular outdoor festival organized by the Mount Vernon Programming Council.
At 3 p.m. on the Mount Vernon Campus, GW community members are invited to attend a housewarming for West Hall, GW’s new mixed-use residence hall and campus life center. The event will also include a dedication of Pelham Commons, the building’s new dining hall, named in honor of Peter Pelham, president of the Mount Vernon College from 1962 to 1977.
That evening, comedian Jimmy Fallon, host of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “Saturday Night Live” alumnus, will entertain GW audiences for two shows at 7 and 10 p.m. at the Charles E. Smith Center.
Saturday events will also include campus tours, breakfasts with school deans and a golf scramble.
Live music at the annual Jazz Brunch on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Marvin Center first floor will start a day of activities, which include the interactive session “CSI Mount Vernon Campus” at GW’s Acheson Science Center on the Mount Vernon Campus, GW volleyball and GW men’s soccer games.
The entire community is welcome to Sunday afternoon’s Eighth Annual Foggy Bottom/West End Neighborhood Block Party from 1-4 p.m. on the Eye Street Mall. Visitors can sample a variety of local food and visit craft vendors, listen to musical performances and participate in a free health-screening.
Executive Director of Parent Services Rodney L. Johnson says Colonials Weekend is an “exciting and important” weekend that requires university-wide collaboration.
“With events such as the Colonials Weekend Welcome with President Steven Knapp and Media and Public Affairs Professor Steven V. Roberts, to the Dean’s Breakfasts and Jimmy Fallon’s shows, everybody at the university has been willing to come together to make this a really great weekend,” he says. “There are a lot of events that we know students, parents and families will enjoy.”