By Andy Dahn

BLOOMINGTON – Parents, siblings and grandparents of ISU students are flocking to the Bloomington-Normal area Friday for the beginning of Family Weekend 2015.

The weekend gives families an up close and personal look at life on the ISU campus, offers a wide variety of sporting events and activities and also provides parents with updates on what’s happening at the university. Associate Dean of Students John Davenport said faculty use Family Weekend as a way to connect with parents and show them what their students have been working on. Parents can even meet with President Larry Dietz, someone Davenport called “a rock star.”

“He’s the type who will grab some parents, chat with them, take a selfie with them and answer some questions if he has the time,” Davenport said. “We really want this to be all about accessibility of the campus, the town and as many administrators as we can.”

Davenport said the weekend provides families with a chance to explore areas beyond the ISU quad.

“We want students and their families to experience not just ISU, but also Uptown Normal and the entire town of Bloomington-Normal,” said Davenport. “Families can come and check out some local venues in Uptown, walk around and experience the stores and restaurants and just have a good time.”

Another piece of advice from Davenport? Leave the dorm or apartment behind and adventure around.

“We have a beautiful campus,” Davenport said. “We’re going to have some great weather, so we want parents to walk around Uptown, walk around campus, go to the academic buildings and just kind of experience the life of their student this weekend.”

The weekend is also full of scheduled events including performances from ISU and Gamma Phi Circus alum Christian Stoinev, comedian Bill Engvall and a variety of university sporting events. Parents will also be able to learn more about academic life at ISU with numerous departmental open houses on Saturday.

Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].