Stargazing, live music and mini-golfing will be offered to students and their paternal figures this weekend as Ohio University hosts the 2017 Dads Weekend. Father figures of all shapes and sizes are invited to join OU students on campus in a range of fun activities.
Stargazing and a hike at The Ridges will be offered Saturday by the university. George Eberts, an astronomy professor at OU will join the stargazing event and offer some star gazing interpretation, said coordinator of the event Judd Walker.
“It’s usually pretty interactive, folks have the opportunity to meet other parents who are in town and I think it’s definitely a unique way to experience The Ridges,” Walker said.
The hike will take place before the stargazing event and costs $10. Participants are encouraged to register prior to the event. Participants will meet at 7:40 p.m. in front of Ping Recreation Center and take part in the hike that is one to two miles long. It will conclude at the Ridges’ challenge course where hikers can then indulge in a campfire complete with supplies for s’mores.
“(The Ridges) holds a lot of mystery for folks in this area, and it’s definitely a different way to get to go out there at night and see a part of The Ridges with brand new folks and around a campfire and especially cause we have the professor joining us,” Walker said.
On campus, Alden library will be hosting the “Alden Open 2017” Saturday, creating a mini-golf course that will be located in the library. The course, which costs $5 per person for nine holes and $10 per person for 18 holes, will open at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m.
“There’s an 18-hole mini golf course in the library (and) it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to go through it,” said Barbara Fiocchi, coordinator of the event. “It’s on the fourth floor, the third floor and the first floor.”
Money from the event will benefit Alden library as well as the Student Research and Creative Activity Expo. The library will have doughnuts in the morning, and Avalanche Pizza will donate pizza in the afternoon.
Casa Nueva Restaurant and Cantina will also be hosting three bands on Saturday as well. The lineup featuring Crooked Spines, Gaptooth Grin and Wonderfool.
Hailey Spivak, a 2017 alumna who studied health communication will be at Casa supporting her friends who are members of the bands.
“It’s a great show for other people to go and it’s easy and it’s free,” she said.
Although Spivak’s dad has never come down to Athens for any of the events, she said she still enjoys the weekend.
“I like Dads Weekend because my friends’ dads were come down and we’ll go out to eat,” Spivak said. “So it’s fun.”
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