Family Weekend is right around the corner for students with the annual tradition returning on Sept. 23 and 24.

Registration for the weekend is currently open and will close on Sept. 21. 

Some of the events that families can enjoy together are Praise Day Friday, Follies and the football game against Western New Mexico. 

PJ Martinez undertook the role of associate dean of student engagement in January of this year. As the creator of this year’s family weekend schedule, he said he wanted to fill some of the open space in the schedule from previous years. 

“I wanted this year to provide more of an opportunity for on-campus events to happen,” Martinez said. “So we’ve incorporated that, but also giving our families an opportunity just to go away and see their kids for a little bit of time being.”

One new event that has been added to the schedule this year is Clowder Time. This Friday’s event will be a small business fair. There will be coffee, popcorn and a food truck at the event as well. 

“We’re trying just to make it a laid-back type of vibe for our families to enjoy,” Martinez said. 

On Saturday, families will have the opportunity to meet with all of the student life administration during a brunch. 

There will also be an opportunity for families to have portraits taken at the Jacob’s Dream sculpture. 

The student life team is working with local restaurants, including Fuzzy’s and Phoenix Pho, to provide discounts to families throughout the weekend. 

“All they will have to do is just show their name tag and then from there they get a discount,” Martinez said. 

Lucas Vogt, a graduate student and Graduate Intern of Student Engagement from McKinney, said in past years families have struggled with knowing how to spend their time while they are in Abilene. 

“We’re trying to answer that question this year,” Vogt said. “We’re trying to provide that element of here’s things you can do with your student outside of those meal times and outside of Follies, kind of centralizing it all on campus.”

Vogt said a common misconception that people have about family weekend is that it is only for freshmen. 

“I really think it’s for all of our students,” Vogt said. “I think as an ACU community we want to make sure that this campus is not just a home and a place of welcoming for our students, but for their families.”