Schedule of Events

Aux Delice will be serving 3 specialty Captains ice cream flavors in the Trible Plaza.

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 additional opportunities through our external partner programs that offer study abroad for a semester or summer.

Click here for more information!

Location: Great Lawn (Rain location: Peebles Theatre)

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.

Location: Trible Library 

This signature Family Weekend fall event will feature beer and wine tastings from a variety of local breweries and wineries throughout the area paired with small bites unique to each tasting. This event is open to all Silver and Platinum tier members of the President’s Parent and Family Council as well as any families who add the Premier Pass on to Family Weekend registration.

Location: Townebank Stadium Football Endzone (Rain location: Freeman Center Aux Gym)

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.

Location: David Student Union

This concert is not included with your Family Weekend registration and you must buy your own tickets.

Buy tickets here!

Location: Diamonstein Concert Hall

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

Aux Delice will be serving 3 specialty Captains ice cream flavors in the Trible Plaza.

Location: Trible Plaza (Rain location: Library Rotunda)

*Invitation Only

Shuttling begins at 8 a.m. from Lot C2 in front of the Diamonstein Concert Hall 

Campus Parking Map

Location: Three Oaks (President's Residence)

Experience taking a class here at CNU by becoming a student yourself! Family Weekend guests can join a 45-minute lecture with one of CNU’s amazing faculty members. 

• Michelle Earhardt- "Michelangelo and Modernity: Renaissance Lessons for a Changing World"- in Torggler Presentation Room
• Joseph Sery- "Revisiting Mill's 'On the Liberty of Thought and Discussion"

Location: McMurran/Torggler Presentation room

This session will introduce families to the new virtual reality lab in McMurran Hall and demonstrate how Christopher Newport's humanities students and faculty incorporate digital technology -- including virtual/augmented reality, ArcGIS StoryMap projects, podcasting, and documentary film -- into our classes and in collaboration with our community partners. This event has a set capacity of 20 people to ensure the best possible experience.

This event...If we reach capacity, additional guests will be added to a wait list. If space opens up, those on the wait list will be contacted via email or phone.

Location: McMurran Hall 110 -- the Humanities Virtual Reality Lab

Tailgate Zone passes will be available online, with the purchase of football game tickets, over the phone or in person beginning Monday, August 19. Tailgate Zone passes are $25 per game. The CNU Athletic Ticket Office in the Freeman Center is open Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can reach them by calling 757 - 594 - 7880. There will be a limited amount of passes available to purchase through Family Weekend Registration. 

*Champions Club members are permitted to enter the tailgate beginning at 9:00a.m.

Location: Tailgate lots

We welcome our Christopher Newport Alumni Legacies to join us at the third annual Alumni Legacy Family hospitality tent during this year’s Family Weekend Tailgate! If you are the parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, cousin or sibling of a current student at Christopher Newport and are registered for Family Weekend, this tailgate is open to you! Come by to enjoy a few breakfast favorites cooked up fresh by your Alumni Engagement Team and featuring a few special guests, and don’t forget to grab your Legacy Family gift! Please Note: No tailgate pass is required to attend this event. You can park anywhere on campus and walk over to join in on the fun, but there are no designated parking spaces for this event. Questions? Please email Barb Ballve-Bester ‘15 at barb.ballve@cnu.edu 

*Champions Club members are permitted to enter the tailgate beginning at 9:00a.m.

Location: Tailgate Zone

Dr. Bromley-Trujillo will discuss the upcoming Virginia statewide and legislative elections. She will also cover how public polling is done, the challenges and benefits of polling, and share some recent poll results from the Wason Center.

Location: McMurran Hall

Join the Campus Activities Board as they host their annual Student Music Festival and Food Truck Frenzy! 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 James River Field (right beside Townebank Stadium)!

Location: James River Field

Experience taking a class here at CNU by becoming a student yourself! Family Weekend guests can join a 45-minute lecture with one of CNU’s amazing faculty members. 

• Sean Connable- "Communication, Interpretation, and the Curious Question of the Real"
• Sean Heuvel- confirmed- "Captain's Tales: Amazing Stories from Christopher Newport University's 65-Year History"

Location: McMurran Hall

This session will introduce families to the new virtual reality lab in McMurran Hall and demonstrate how Christopher Newport's humanities students and faculty incorporate digital technology -- including virtual/augmented reality, ArcGIS StoryMap projects, podcasting, and documentary film -- into our classes and in collaboration with our community partners. This event has a set capacity of 20 people to ensure the best possible experience.

This event...If we reach capacity, additional guests will be added to a wait list. If space opens up, those on the wait list will be contacted via email or phone.

Location: McMurran Hall 110 -- the Humanities Virtual Reality Lab

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: Gaines Theater

You can buy general admission or reserved bleacher tickets beginning Thursday, August 14 through cnusports.com. There will be a limited amount of tickets available to purchase through Family Weekend Registration.

Note: If you would like to sit with your student in a reserved section (chairback or reserved bleacher), you will need to purchase a ticket for your student. CNU students get into the games for free, but can only sit in the general admission sections.

Location: TowneBank Stadium

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: Trible Library Theater

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. 

Location: Gaines Theater

Sponsored by CNURec

Families can sign up in teams of two. Max number of teams is set at 16. No registration is required for guests interested in open play.

Register here!

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

An annual Christopher Newport tradition, featuring our outstanding students, faculty and ensembles. This year's theme is "The Great American Songbook!"

Included in Family Weekend registration.

Location: Ferguson Center Diamonstein Concert Hall

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 towel. There will not be any supplied.

Location: Great Lawn

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 can be made through the Family Weekend registration.

*There is an additional cost to attend brunch. When you add your reservation to your Family Weekend registration, you will be prompted to pay.

Location: David Student Union Ballroom/2nd Floor