Bingo, Barbecue and a Blowout

From stepping through the front door at the President’s Open House on Friday to soaking up the last notes of “Excellent Is Your Name” at Sunday’s Gospel Brunch, thousands of Terp families came together for a unique Terp experience at Family Weekend. (And in between, lots of them cheered themselves hoarse at Maryland Football’s fifth straight victory.)

More than 1,500 families registered to participate in any of the two dozen or so events sponsored by Family Engagement, with an assist from units across the University of Maryland. Others eschewed organized fun and made their own, whether tailgating, eating together in a dining hall or informally touring the grounds and buildings.

“The whole reason for Family Weekend is to give families the opportunity to spend time with their students and experience the university in a special way, and for us to showcase some of the great things that are happening,” said Brian Watkins, assistant dean in the Division of Student Affairs longtime director of Family Engagement. “We want to help them really have a great weekend, and I know we did that.”

He said more schools, colleges and programs than ever before offered open houses. Religious organizations hosted service and meals, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center welcomed visitors to the musical “The Prom,” and the most adventurous families headed for the climbing wall and challenge course at the Eppley Recreation Center.

Not Your Grandma’s Bingo, featuring drag queens calling out the numbers between one-liners, drew another sellout crowd. It raised a record $14,000 for Fostering Terp Success, a campus unit that helps students who are homeless, have been in the foster care system, or lack a supportive family network.

The Terp Family Festival and Tailgate was by far the biggest event, attracting several thousands for a barbecue, live music, games, and face tattoos and handouts of bead necklaces in Maryland colors to wear to later watch the Terps thump the Indiana Hoosiers, 44-17.

Terrapin Club President Scott Weitz ’90 of Montgomery County, who with his wife was feted as the “donor of the game,” greeted dozens of parents at his giant tailgate, featuring a three-part tent topped by a giant inflatable Testudo on Lot Z. (“It’s like putting on a wedding every weekend,” he said.)

“We’ve gotten it down to a science,” said Weitz, whose daughters Taylor and Ryan are both Terps. “We get to see our kids’ friends and are at the point where the kids think it’s cool.”

Mildred Flickinger of Baltimore County said Family Weekend—including a tailgate—allowed her to meet the parents of the friends her freshman daughter, Maria Jose Flickinger, has made and to get more familiar with the campus, including a meal in Yahentamitsi dining hall.

“We had a great experience, particularly because the campus was so beautiful,” she said. “It was really delightful.”

Check out some of the scenes from the weekend's activities.