Register for Family Weekend

Jump To: Friday, October 17 | Saturday, October 18 | Sunday, October 19

*Please note that this is not the 2025 confirmed schedule of activities. This list is based of off last years (2024) activities. We hope this give you an overview of the types of activities that you can expect during family weekend.

Friday, October 17

  • 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Visit the Welcome Table in Severance Great Hall for nametags, refreshments and up-to-date weekend schedules. 
  • 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Missing someone from home? Send them a postcard from Carleton. Available in Sayles-Hill Great Space.
  • 10:50 – 11:50 a.m. Convocation with Pat Sukhum ’96 in Skinner Chapel. Pat joined Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities as CEO in June 2021 after a 20+ year career in health tech startups, transitioning from for-profit entrepreneurship to non-profit community youth development.
  • 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Meet Maisy, one of our wonderful SWA Dogs on the Bald Spot.
  • 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Popcorn Wagon in front of Sayles Hill
  • 2:20 – 3:20 p.m. Campus Tour led by students. You are encouraged to ask about life as a Carl, residential life, and our campus community as you check out our academic buildings and other facilities. Ideal if you’ve never been to campus before, or have younger siblings visiting! Meet outside Scoville Hall.
  • 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. East Energy Station Tour. Carleton is a nationwide leader in campus sustainability, and in 2020 completed a shift from steam heating to a new geothermal and heat pump system that provides 70% of the campus’ heating and cooling year-round. See where the magic happens on a tour of the East Energy Station. Limit: 50 people, first come first served. Meet in Olin 141.
  • 3:30 p.m. Jummah in Skinner Memorial Chapel Lounge.
  • 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Bouldering at the Rec Center Bouldering Wall. Must be 10 or older.
  • 3:45 – 4:45 p.m. East Energy Station Tour. See description above. Limit: 50 people, first come first served. Meet in Olin 141.
  • 4 – 5 p.m. Architecture Tour of the Carleton campus, highlighting the history of buildings and recent construction. Led by Ross Elfline, professor of art history, starting from the steps of Sayles-Hill.
  • 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Undergraduate Research and Internship Symposium in the Weitz Center Commons. Nearly 200 students will present posters sharing learning from summer academic research and internship experiences.
  • 4:30 p.m. Christian Social at Chapel Lawn/Vestibule entrance.
  • 5 – 6 p.m. Campus Tour led by students. See description above. Meet outside Scoville Hall.
  • 6:15 p.m. Jewish Sukkot Shabbat Service on Chapel Lawn (Weather Location: Alumni Guest House).
  • 7 p.m. Women’s Volleyball vs. Macalester College in West Gym.
  • 7 p.m. SUMO (Student Union Movie Organization) showing Inside Out 2 at Weitz Cinema.
  • 7:30 – 8:15 p.m. Music Department Showcase with performances by instrumental and choral ensembles, as well as chamber groups and student soloists in Kracum Hall. Reception to follow.
  • 8:30 – 10:30 p.m. Game Night in Great Hall. Face off with your family on board games and Legos, and enjoy some hot beverages and snacks.
  • 10 p.m. SUMO (Student Union Movie Organization) showing Inside Out 2 at Weitz Cinema.

Saturday, October 18

  • 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Visit the Welcome Table in Severance Great Hall for nametags and up-to-date weekend schedules.
  • 8 – 9 a.m. Yin Yoga class at Rec Center Studio.
  • 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pickleball. Two courts available at Rec Center.
  • 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Are you a parent and an alum? Join us at the Alumni Guest House to meet up with other alumni who are raising the next generation of Carls for an Alum Parents Coffee Reception. The Alumni Guest House is located at the southwest corner of First and College Sts., diagonally across from the Carleton sign.
  • 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. East Energy Station Tour. Carleton is a nationwide leader in campus sustainability, and in 2020 completed a shift from steam heating to a new geothermal and heat pump system that provides 70% of the campus’ heating and cooling year-round. See where the magic happens on a tour of the East Energy Station. Limit: 50 people, first come first served. Meet in Olin 141.
  • 9 a.m. 3-4 mile Arb Run led by CREEP (Carleton Running Club). Enjoy the fall colors of the Arb! Meet outside the front entrance to the Rec Center.
  • 9 – 10:30 a.m. Carleton faculty will present short talks designed to give family members a window into the experience of working with our consistently top-rated faculty. Held in Weitz Center Cinema. Continental breakfast available from 8:30 – 10 a.m in Weitz Center Commons.
    • 9 a.m. Juliane Schicker (German and Russian), German Studies: Language, Culture, Civic Engagement
    • 9:30 a.m. Marty Baylor (Physics and Astronomy), What Can You Do With a Physics Degree? Broadening Our Majors’ Possibilities for the Future!
    • 10 a.m. Constanza Ocampo-Raeder (Sociology and Anthropology, Latin American Studies), How To Cook a Cat: Culinary Privileging, Nation Building, and a Contested Afro-Peruvian Eating Tradition
  • 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Campus Tour led by students. You are encouraged to ask about life as a Carl, residential life, and our campus community as you check out our academic buildings and other facilities. Ideal if you’ve never been to campus before, or have younger siblings visiting! Meet outside Scoville Hall.
  • 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. East Energy Station Tour. See description above. Limit: 50 people, first come first served. Meet in Olin 141.
  • 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Missing someone from home? Send them a postcard from Carleton. Available in Sayles-Hill Great Space.
  • 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Updates and Q&A’s from President Byerly and Dean Livingston, in Skinner Chapel. Unable to attend in person? Please click here to register for the event via Zoom.
  • 11 a.m. Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Intrasquad/Alumni Meet at West Gym.
  • 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Family Weekend Lunch. All families and students are invited to attend in either the Burton Dining Hall or the Language and Dining Center. This is a great time to meet your Carl’s friends! There is no cost to attend for families, but students will still be required to swipe their OneCard.
  • 1 p.m. Football vs. St. John’s University at Laird Stadium.
  • 1 p.m. Women’s Soccer vs. Hamline University at Bell Field.
  • 1 – 2 p.m. Arb Walk led by student naturalists. Hike a small slice of the Upper Arboretum to learn about the restoration work the College is doing in this 800-acre nature preserve. There won’t be time to share the whole place with you, but we hope to provide enough information to encourage you to explore more of the 15 miles of trails on your own. Meet at the Arb kiosk in front of the Rec Center.
  • 1 – 3 p.m. Live trivia with Noah Tarnow ’97, founder of The Big Quiz Thing. Prizes will be awarded! Nobody loves trivia more than a Carl. Held in Great Hall.
  • 2 p.m. Tour of Bank Job exhibition at Perlman Teaching Museum. Bank Job is an art history lesson in conceptual art via the medium of currency, themes of forgery, trickery, and the trope of the heist.
  • 2 – 2:50 p.m. Career Development for Carls panel. Learn more about how the Career Center partners with parents in preparing students for their futures. Meet in Weitz Center 236.
  • 2 – 3 p.m. Campus Tour/ Recorrido por el Colegio, dirigido por estudiantes! Háganos preguntas sobre el día de un estudiante, vida residencial y comunidad mientras caminamos por nuestros edificios académicos y más. Si nunca ha visitado nuestro campus, o hay hermanos visitando, este recorrido es ideal para usted. Nos encontraremos afuera del edificio “Scoville Hall.”
  • 3 – 3:50 p.m. Off-Campus Studies panel in Weitz Center 236. Q&A session with Helena Kaufman, Director of Off-Campus Studies, and OCS Fellows, focusing on some of the programs Carleton offers and how students fit it into their academic plans.
  • 3 – 4 p.m. Campus Tour led by students. See description above. Meet outside Scoville Hall.
  • 3:30 p.m. Men’s Soccer vs. Hamline University at Bell Field.
  • 4 – 5 p.m. Architecture Tour of the Carleton campus, highlighting the history of buildings and recent construction. Led by Baird Jarman, professor of art history, starting from the steps of Sayles-Hill.
  • 7 p.m. Havdalah in Sukkah on Chapel Lawn (Weather location: Skinner Chapel).
  • 7 p.m. SUMO (Student Union Movie Organization) showing Inside Out 2 at Weitz Cinema.
  • 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Student Group Showcase featuring musical performances by student groups, including the Accidentals, Exit 69, Carleton Singing Knights and Knightingales, in Skinner Chapel.
  • 9:00 p.m. Concert by The New Standards. A “revelatory” Twin Cities-based trio with a global following, the band also happens to include two current Carleton parents, John Munson P’25 and Chan Poling P’27. Doors open at 8 p.m., with student band Leaves On Your Windshield on at 8:30 p.m. Armory Square Event Center at 519 Division St S. Purchase tickets for $45/person.
  • 10 p.m. SUMO (Student Union Movie Organization) showing Inside Out 2 at Weitz Cinema.

Sunday, October 19

  • 9 – 10 a.m. Arb Walk led by student naturalists. Hike a small slice of the Upper Arboretum to learn about the restoration work the College is doing in this 800-acre nature preserve. There won’t be time to share the whole place with you, but we hope to provide enough information to encourage you to explore more of the 15 miles of trails on your own. Meet at the Arb kiosk in front of the Rec Center.
  • 9:30 – 11 a.m. Carleton faculty will present short talks designed to give family members a window into the experience of working with our consistently top-rated faculty. Held in Weitz Center Cinema.
    • 9:30 a.m. Cecilia Cozzi (Classics), Fathers’ Shadow and Filial Wounds: Negotiating Inheritance on the Ancient Greek Stage
    • 10 a.m. Susan Jaret McKinstry (English), Does Writing Matter?
    • 10:30 a.m. Bill North (History, Medieval and Renaissance Studies), Building Power and Piety in Medieval Italy: Exploring the Spoils of Time in Off-Campus Studies
  • 2 – 5 p.m. Bouldering at the Rec Center Bouldering Wall. Must be 10 or older.
  • 5 – 6 p.m. Sound Bath Meditation in Skinner Chapel.