Families Weekend
September 29–October 1, 2023
Schedule
Friday, September 29, 2023
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
For current and ongoing exhibits please visit The Loeb website.
James W Palmer Gallery, College Center
The Supper Club
58 portraits of contemporary artists of color and a series of salon-style dinners by photographer Elia Alba. Palmer Gallery Website.
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Salat-u-Jum’ua
Pratt House / Meditation and Prayer Room
Muslim Friday Congregational Prayer.
3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
The Haiti Project: Sale of Haitian Art
Main Building / College Center, Multi-Purpose Room
Come for the sale of 350 original Haitian paintings and hundreds of original handicrafts, including hand-painted silk scarves, iron sculptures, and papier-mâché goods. The Haiti Project engages students in a life-changing experiential education in global citizenship, fosters sustainable development in Haiti, and promotes Haitian art. (Handicrafts start at $5 and paintings at $50. All purchases are 50% tax deductible.)
3:00 p.m.
Highlights Tour
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Highlights from the permanent collection. The collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center charts the history of art from antiquity to the present and comprises over 21,000 works. (Hours of operation, daily, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.)
4:00 p.m.
Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Collection
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Reception in The Atrium
5:30p.m. Panel Discussion, Taylor 102
For current and ongoing exhibits please visit The Loeb website.
6:00 p.m.
Shabbat Services
At the Campus Sukkah, close to Gordon Commons/Noyes
Rain Location: The Bayit, 51 Collegeview Ave, just outside of North Gate
Vassar Jewish Union (VJU) invites all students and their families for a student-led, participatory Shabbat Service followed by a vegetarian dinner. Please RSVP by emailing rsl@vassar.edu (Vassar’s Office of Religious & Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices).
Service: 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Dinner: 7:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Shabbat with Chabad Jewish Community
Chabad House, 94 Fulton Avenue
Join the Chabad Jewish Community (CJC) for a warm, family style shabbat experience! A home cooked meal will be served complete with vegan and vegetarian options. All are welcome! Please RSVP by emailing rsl@vassar.edu. When you RSVP, please indicate if you plan to attend Shabbat with VJU or CJC.
Saturday, September 30, 2023
9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Academic Life: A Faculty Panel for Families of First Year Students
The Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, Martel Theater
Lioba Gerhardi, Dean of First Year Students, hosts a discussion with faculty members about the First Year writing seminar and what students can expect academically. Q&A to follow. Faculty panel includes Charles H. Arndt, Assistant Professor of Russian Studies, Nicholas A. de Leeuw, Senior Lecturer in Psychological Science, and Susan Zlotnick, Professor of English on the Mary Augusta Scott Chair.
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
For current and ongoing exhibits please visit The Loeb website.
James W Palmer Gallery, College Center
The Supper Club
58 portraits of contemporary artists of color and a series of salon-style dinners by photographer Elia Alba. Palmer Gallery Website.
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
The Haiti Project: Sale of Haitian Art
Main Building / College Center, Multi-Purpose Room
Remarks by Ms. Sarah Planton at 4 p.m.
(See Friday’s schedule for complete information.)
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Nature Journaling on the Preserve
The Environmental Cooperative and Preserve
50 Vassar Farm Lane
Join The Environmental Cooperative and Preserve staff for a morning of nature journaling. We will meet in the quad outside of the Vassar Barn (50 Vassar Farm Lane) for a short nature journaling activity followed by a 40-minute hike on our Swain Trail. There will be opportunities for making art and writing in nature. We will come together for a sharing circle at the end of our hike. Please wear comfortable footwear suitable for hiking and long pants to protect against ticks and poison ivy. Please RSVP for the Event
10:15 a.m.–11:15 a.m.
Oh, The Places They’ll Go: A Very Vassar Summer
The Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, Martel Theater
Learn more about how students spend their summer breaks and hear from a panel of students to discover what Vassar can do to support an unforgettable summer experience. Hosted and moderated by Stacy Bingham, Associate Dean of the College for Career Education.
10:30 a.m.
Highlights Tour
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Highlights from the permanent collection. The collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center charts the history of art from antiquity to the present and comprises over 21,000 works. (Hours of operation, daily, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.)
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Conversation with the President and the Deans
The Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, Martel Theater
A Conversation with Elizabeth H. Bradley, President of the College; Marianne H. Begemann, Dean of Strategic Planning and Academic Resources; Kelli Duncan, Faculty Director of Teaching Development; and Luis Inoa, Associate Dean of the College for Student Living and Wellness.
11:30 a.m.
Vassar College Women’s Volleyball
Kenyon Hall
Vassar vs William Smith
12:00 p.m.–3 p.m.
Car Wash
Lathrop & Strong Parking Lot
Sponsored by the Ski Team will be in the Lathrop/Strong
12:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Open House
Shiva Theater
Featuring performances by BAM (1 p.m.) and Nitrous Oxide (1:30 p.m.)
12:45 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Walking Tour of the Vassar Arboretum
Main Building
A ramble through central campus to learn about the history of the Vassar Arboretum, Andrew Jackson Downing’s campus landscape influence, information on some of the interesting trees in our 220 species collection, our native plants and Ecological Preserves and enticing bits of campus history. The tour begins at the front entrance to Main Building. Hosted by Mark Schlessman, Emeritus Professor of Biology and Laura Graceffa ’87.
1:00 p.m.
Vassar College Field Hockey
Weinberg Turf Field
Vassar vs William Smith
1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
ALANA Fest
Residential Quad
ALANA Fest, one of the Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center’s core events, makes visible, celebrates, and builds community with students of color at Vassar. This large annual event includes catering by local restaurants, performances by guest artists from the local community and BIPOC student performers, and tabling & interactive activities led by ALANA organization leaders, administrative offices, program assistants, and Poughkeepsie residents.
Music in the Loeb
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Featuring, each half hour, a selection of the College’s many different ensembles and soloists.
- 1:00 p.m. - Vassar College Treble Choir
- 1:30 p.m. - Vassar College Chamber Singers
- 2:00 p.m. - Vassar College Choir
- 2:30 p.m. - Soloists from the Department
- 3:00 p.m. - Chamber Music I
- 3:30 p.m. - Chamber Music II
2:00 p.m.
Vassar College Men’s Soccer
Prentiss Gordon Field
Vassar vs Skidmore
2:00 p.m.
Vassar College Women’s Volleyball
Kenyon Hall
Vassar vs William Smith vs United States Merchant Marine Academy
2:00 p.m.–3:15 p.m.
Take Up the Song: The Poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay ’17
Thompson Memorial Library, Class of 1951 Reading Room
Commemorating the Centennial Anniversary of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Walking Tour of the Preserve at Vassar
The Environmental Cooperative and Preserve, 50 Vassar Farm Lane
Join the Environmental Cooperative and Preserve staff for a two-hour tour of The Preserve at Vassar’s 400-plus acres. The tour will start and end in the quad outside of the Vassar Barn (50 Vassar Farm Lane). This tour covers easy to moderate terrain and includes many opportunities for wildlife viewing. Come learn some history about The Preserve at Vassar and get up to date on our current research and monitoring projects. Please wear comfortable footwear suitable for hiking and long pants to protect against ticks and poison ivy. Please RSVP for the Tour
2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Emerging Shapes: A Vassar Students Exhibition
Gallery 40, 40 Cannon Street, Poughkeepsie, NY
Featured Artists: Catherine Borthwick, Phineas Cashman, Parker Fairfield, Chloé Hupin, Phoebe Kinder, Caleb Leeming, Harry Malone, Sarah McDonald, Mingjia Ni, Nikita Sidoryk, Claire Caveney Snyder
The Capotorto and Mulas Family Lecture in Film
The Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, Martel Theater
American director/cinematographer Ellen Kuras will speak about her groundbreaking and visionary work. Ellen is one of the first female members of the American Society of Cinematographers and was also the first woman to receive its Lifetime Achievement award. She is a pioneer known for her work on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Blow (2001). Kuras’ latest project is the biographical period drama, LEE, about photographer Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, a fashion model from Poughkeepsie who became a war correspondent for Vogue during World War II. The film stars Academy Award-winner, Kate Winslet. Moderated by Mia Mask, Professor of Film on the Mary Riepma Ross Chair.
4:30 p.m.
Vassar College Women’s Volleyball
Kenyon Hall
Vassar vs United States Merchant Marine Academy
5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Families Weekend Reception: Hudson Valley Harvest
Bridge for Laboratory Sciences
You and your student are invited to stop by and sample some of the Hudson Valley’s bounty at a very casual Vassar Families Weekend Reception, catered by Twisted Soul.
7:30 p.m.
Barefoot Fireflies Fire Show
Residential Quad
The Barefoot Fireflies is Vassar’s one and only circus and fire arts club! Our fall fire show is a great event for families to attend; we have juggling, dancing, spinning, and lots of flames! Come support Vassar students as we put on our first performance of the semester! For more information, email exec.barefootfireflies@gmail.com.
8:00 p.m.
Faculty Concert: Quintet 2x, Trevor Babb, guitar and friends
Skinner Hall / Mary Anna Fox Martel Recital Hall
Vassar guitar faculty member Trevor Babb will be joined by Matt Sargent, Blair McMillan, Evan Runyon, and Taylor Long in a program of contemporary chamber music written or adapted for modern rock band instrumentation. The quintet will give a world premiere of Babb’s composition “Severe Itch” and will perform other works by Julius Eastman, Paula Matthusen, John Cage, and Larry Polansky. This virtuosic program will combine the energy of rock music and ethereal soundscapes with the craft of classical composition for a musical experience you won’t want to miss. For more information about event requirements, reservations, and registration please email music@vassar.edu.
Sunday, October 1, 2023
9:00 a.m. (Race Start)
Braga 5K: Not One More
Joss Beach (in front of Josselyn House)
The inaugural Braga 5K Run/Walk is named in honor of U.S. Army veteran and Vassar College alum, Fernando Braga ’17, who died by suicide in 2022. The purpose of this annual race is to raise awareness of veteran suicide in the United States, which continues to be significantly higher than the national average. All are welcome to join this momentous event. Read more about the Run/Walk at braga5k.com.
10:00 a.m.–11:15 a.m.
Walking Tour of the Vassar Arboretum
Main Building
A ramble through central campus to learn about the history of the Vassar Arboretum, Andrew Jackson Downing’s campus landscape influence, information on some of the interesting trees in our 220 species collection, our native plants and Ecological Preserves plus enticing bits of campus history. The tour begins at the front entrance to Main Building. Hosted by Mark Schlessman, Emeritus Professor of Biology and Laura Graceffa ’87.
10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
The Haiti Project: Sale of Haitian Art
Main Building / College Center, Multi-Purpose Room
(See Friday’s schedule for complete information.)
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
For current and ongoing exhibits please visit The Loeb website.
James W Palmer Gallery, College Center
The Supper Club
58 portraits of contemporary artists of color and a series of salon-style dinners by photographer Elia Alba. Palmer Gallery Website.
1:00 p.m.
Highlights Tour
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Highlights from the permanent collection. The collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center charts the history of art from antiquity to the present and comprises over 21,000 works. (Hours of operation, daily, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.)
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Roman Catholic Mass
Vassar Chapel
Vassar Catholic Community (VCC) invites all students and their families to a mass with music. Light refreshments and communal gathering will follow. Questions? Email rsl@vassar.edu (Vassar’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices)
3:00 p.m.
In Homage
Skinner Hall of Music
Pianist and Vassar Adjunct Artist in Music Thomas Sauer explores the idea of musical homage: his own to his late teacher, Edward Aldwell, and several tributes from one composer to another. The Afro-Cuban-American composer Tania León’s “Homenatge” pays respect to the Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge, and Astor Piazzolla’s “Adios Nonino” is dedicated to the memory of his father. The program closes with Brahms’s tribute to Handel and the musical Baroque, his Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. For more information about event requirements, reservations, and registration please email music@vassar.edu
3:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
The Fall-est of Festivals
Blodgett Hall (Outside)
Sponsored by the Vassar Outing Club in collaboration with Student Music and Vassar Food Cooperative. Activities include pie tasting, pumpkin painting, folk singing, square dancing, parent mingling, and even a bake sale! Plus an Open Mic!
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Episcopal Church at Vassar College
Pratt House
Weekly ecumenical Protestant worship at Pratt House. All Christians or folks curious about Christianity are welcome—we are an inclusive, queer-affirming group! For more information, contact rsl@vassar.edu.
General Weekend Information
Get exciting offers and activities for Vassar families from our friends at Dutchess Tourism
Pick Your Own at Dubois Farm! Vassar Families can use this coupon to receive 10% off all purchases of fruit and food at DuBois Farms.
What’s Out There Rhinebeck & the Mid-Hudson Valley planned by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF)
Campus Dining
Gordon Commons
(Students’ Building)
Friday: 7:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m. (food served until 11 p.m.)
Saturday: 8:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m. (food served until 12 a.m.)
Sunday: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Special Families weekend dining rate is $10 per meal per guest
The Retreat Café
(Located in Main Building, College Center, South Atrium)
Friday: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
PopUp Market @ The Express
(Located in Main Building, College Center, North Atrium)
Friday: 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
The Bridge Café
(Located in the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences)
Friday: 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Street Eats (Food Truck)
(Located at College Center Circle)
Sunday: 5:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Friday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
James W Palmer Gallery
Friday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Athletic Events
Please note start times are subject to change. Please check the Vassar Athletics website for up to date information.
Vassar College Store
(Located in the “Juliet” building at the corner of Raymond and Collegeview Avenues)
Friday: 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sunday: Closed