Schedule of Events
Friday, September 13, 2024
Check in for Family Weekend or take advantage of our onsite registration in the Trible Plaza! Your family can pick up all family weekend materials and tickets, take a picture with Captain Chris, pick up some swag from the Captains Locker and enjoy some sweet treats from Aux Delice.
Location: Trible Plaza (Rain location: Library Rotunda)
Learn about study abroad programs offered through CNU and our partner organizations. Speak with CNU faculty about options available in the summer, during spring break and during the semester. Learn about the CNU Exchange partners and the opportunities to study in those locations for a semester or summer program.
Included in Family Weekend registration.
Location: Great Lawn (Rain location: David Student Union Ballroom)
See and learn about the research conducted by our Summer Scholars! The program runs for eight weeks over the summer and pairs students with faculty to work collaboratively on a faculty-derived research question.
Included in Family Weekend registration.
Location: Trible Library Theater and Rosemary Reading Room
Location: Lee Hall Mansion XC Course
Address: 163 Yorktown Rd, Newport News, VA 23603
Location: Lee Hall Mansion XC Course
Address: 163 Yorktown Rd, Newport News, VA 23603
Invite only welcome reception for President’s Parent Council silver tier members and families who purchase the Family Weekend Premier Pass.
Location: Football Endzone
Join us on the Great Lawn to celebrate our juniors and seniors as they partake in our Christopher Newport Ring Ceremony. Students will be presented their pre-ordered rings at this special tradition. If you would like your student to receive their ring at this event be sure to place the order through Jostens. If you have questions, email grace.sharlun@cnu.edu.
Location: Great Lawn (Rain location: Gaines Theater in the Freeman Center)
Family Game Night, hosted by Orientation and Student Involvement, will feature a variety of free, family friendly activities including: arcade games, board games, Nintendo Switch games, trivia, crafts, and refreshments!
Location: David Student Union
Saturday, September 14
Strap on your tennis shoes and head to the Noland Trail with Dr. Kip Redick to enjoy nature and get some early morning exercise with your family! Dr. Redick is an experienced hiker whose research focuses on comparing long-distance wilderness hiking with pilgrimage. In 2011, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and wrote the book American Camino: Walking as Spiritual Practice on the Appalachian Trail. Last year, he hiked the Continental Divide Trail, traveling from Southern New Mexico all the way to Montana’s Glacier National Park on the Canadian border. This hike will be approximately one hour long and will cover about 2 - 3 miles of the Noland Trail. Please park at the Mariners’ Museum (100 Museum Dr, Newport News, VA 23606) in the first parking lot just before the museum and meet Dr. Redick at the trailhead by 7:30 a.m.
Location: Noland Trail
Check in for Family Weekend or take advantage of our onsite registration in the Trible Plaza! Your family can pick up all family weekend materials and tickets, take a picture with Captain Chris, pick up some swag from the Captains Locker and enjoy some sweet treats from Aux Delice.
Location: Trible Plaza (Rain location: Library Rotunda)
Experience taking a class here at CNU by becoming a student yourself! Family Weekend guests can join a 45-minute lecture with one of three of CNU’s amazing faculty members.
- Christopher Newport University: A Short History Through the Eyes of its Presidents with Dr. Sean Heuvel
- McMurran 164
- Systems Thinking for a Complex World with Dr. Willy Donaldson
- McMurran 101
- What Leonardo da Vinci can teach us aboutgoing to college in the 21st century with Michelle Erhardt
- Torggler Lecture Hall
Included in Family Weekend registration.
*Invitation Only
Shuttling begins at 9:15 from Alumni Portico
Location: Three Oaks
In conjunction with the Torggler's current exhibition, A Grand Menagerie: The Sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington, the Torggler and TheatreCNU have collaborated to produce a theatrical monologue based on the artist's life. The performance stars theatre student Cora Barr as Anna Hyatt Huntington, who muses on her history and inspiration in this "moving" performance in the Torggler's Anne Noland Edwards gallery. The performance runs approximately 35 minutes.
Location: Anne Noland Edwards Gallery (Torggler Second Floor)
*This is a "moving" performance, with the viewers moving through the gallery with the actor. There are a limited number of portable stools available upon request.
Hosted by the Wason Center for Civic Engagement
Come listen to how the Wason Center feels future elections will unfold and how the university positions itself amidst the partisan landscape.
Included in Family Weekend registration.
Location: McMurran Hall
A panel discussion, hosted by Student Affairs, of what our newest Captains are facing in their transition process at this point in the semester from a social, residential, and academic standpoint.
Included in Family Weekend Registration.
Location: Peebles Theatre
Location: Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg
Join the Center for Career Planning (CCP) as we share with you all the great resources available to students and alumni alike in the CCP! Internship opportunities, interview support, resume review, and more can be explored with the help of our professionalism experts. As the motto says "you get jobs by talking to people" — so start with us!
Location: Peebles Theatre
If your student has expressed interest in joining our Greek community, we encourage you to come learn more about what it's like to be a part of that community! We'll discuss the benefits, costs and expectations of being part of the community as well as the recruitment process and how to best support your student through this experience.
Location: Torggler Lecture Hall
Experience taking a class here at CNU by becoming a student yourself! Family Weekend guests can join a 45-minute lecture with one of three of CNU’s amazing faculty members.
- Communication, Interpretation, and the Curious Question of the Real with Sean Connable
- McMurran 164
- Preparing for the 21st Century Workplace with Effective Professional Communication Skills with April Cobos
- McMurran 101
- Sport Fandom: Identities that Unite and Divide Across the Globe with Lynn Shollen
- McMurran 114
Included in Family Weekend registration.
All tailgate passes are sold out. For tailgate questions, please contact the CNU Athletic Ticket Office in the Freeman Center by calling 757 - 594 - 7880. They are open Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Tailgate lots
Join the Campus Activities Board as they host their annual Student Music Festival! The Student Music Festival is comprised of student-led music groups, including acapella organizations and bands. While listening to the performers, take advantage of the free refreshments and food on the Great Lawn.
Location: Great Lawn
We welcome our Christopher Newport Alumni Legacies to join us at the second annual Alumni Legacy Family Hospitality tent during this year’s Family Weekend Tailgate! If you are the parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt or sibling of a current student at Christopher Newport and are registered for Family Weekend, this tailgate is open to you! No tailgate pass is required to attend. You can park anywhere on campus and walk over, but there are no designated parking spaces for this event.
Location: Tailgate Zone
Put your family dynamic to the test as you work together in this PLP hosted Family Leadership Challenge. Working as a team, your family will have a limited amount of time to use your leadership skills to solve a challenging (but fun) problem. This event has a maximum capacity of 100 people to ensure the best possible guest experience!
*Reservations required through Family Weekend registration
Location: Freeman Fieldhouse
An annual Christopher Newport tradition, featuring our outstanding students, faculty and ensembles. This year's theme is "All in!”
Included in Family Weekend registration.
Location: Ferguson Center Diamonstein Concert Hall
Sponsored by CNURec
Families can sign up in teams of two. Max number of teams is set at 16. Click here to register for the tournament! No registration is required for guests interested in open play.
Cost: No fee to participate, but guests should be registered for Family Weekend in order to register for the tournament.
Tournament Prize: CNURec Champion T-shirt
Location: Gosnold Lawn
All football game general admission passes/tickets are sold out. Beginning at 3:00 p.m. on game day, the Athletics Ticket Office will be selling standing room only tickets at Townebank Stadium. Guests with standing room only tickets are allowed to bring their own folding chair.
Note: CNU students get into the games for free, but can only sit in the general admission sections.
Location: TowneBank Stadium
Sunday, September 15
Join the Freeman Center staff for an hour long morning yoga class on the beautiful Great Lawn in front of Christopher Newport Hall! Please bring your own yoga mat or a towel.
Location: Great Lawn
Rain Location: Freeman Field House
The Family Weekend tradition of Sunday brunch includes the finest variety of breakfast and lunchtime favorites and will be held in Regattas Dining Hall in the DSU.
*Reservations required through Family Weekend registration
Location: David Student Union Ballroom/2nd Floor
Location: Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg
- Go on a Walking Tour of Campus
Enjoy a leisurely walk through our beautiful campus and immerse yourself in CNU's vibrant atmosphere. - Grab Food/Coffee on Campus
Check out all the amazing dining options CNU has to offer! - Visit the Campus Bookstore
The Captain's Locker will be open Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Visit the new Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center
The Torggler Center is the newest building on Christopher Newport’s campus, having opened in 2021. This remarkable 83,000 square-foot building features multiple free exhibitions entitled: A Grand Menagerie: The Sculptures of Anna Hyatt Huntington, Lions Bridge Community Slideshow, Cartoon Brain, Unearthing Hampton Roads: Captains' Journeys in Public History and Archaeology, Peruvian Tapestry: Capturing Biodiversity Through Student Lenses.
The Torggler will have extended hours during Family Weekend:- Friday, September 13: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
- Saturday, September 14: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- Sunday, September 15: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
- Visit the Mariners Museum
A steward of one of the world’s most extensive maritime collections, The Mariners’ Museum and Park is committed to the preservation and conservation of more than 32,000 objects and several million library and archive materials. - Take a walk on the Noland Trail
This 4.8 mile loop trail is located just next to the University in the Mariners Museum Park and is good for all skills levels.
Events and activities are added as they are made available - stay tuned!