Ram Fam Engagement Events

Below, you will find a listing of the Office of Parent and Family Relations signature events, which are specifically created and curated for members of the Ram Fam. Events typically include on-demand and live programming for members of our Ram Fam to enjoy at their convenience. To access recordings of past events, please visit our Youtube Channel.

WCU Family Weekend

Save our Date – Family Weekend Meets Homecoming 2023

In 2023, two big WCU traditions will meet for the first time ever: Family Weekend and Homecoming. Hosting these two events together gives our campus an opportunity to share resources, celebrate our community, and create lasting memories. From September 29-October 1, we will host families, alumni, students, faculty and staff, and community members for a weekend full of programs, athletic events, school spirit, and lots of fun. We hope you will join us in merging two of our favorite traditions to create a unique and meaningful experience for our entire community.

Stay tuned for more information!!

Community Partner Event:

Time Event Description Description
10:00 a.m. – 6:00 pm Entrance to Longwood Gardens

From the Longwood Gardens website:

Our Gardens are a living expression of all that our founder, Pierre S. du Pont, found inspiring, meaningful, and beautiful. From the intricate fountain systems to the meticulous gardens to the architectural grandeur, awe-inspiring discoveries await at every turn.

WCU Families who would like to go to Longwood Gardens on Sunday, October 1, 2023 will be able to use the promo code WCUPARENT and be given a 20% discount on adult tickets (making the cost $20/pp). This discount is valid on all adult tickets only on October 1st.

Purchase your Longwood Garden tickets here.
  Escape West Chester Escape West Chester offers multiple 1-hour games designed for families, teams and friends that will challenge you intellectually but will leave you feeling amused. These themed games will require your group to work together with one common goal - to escape before time runs out! Reserve your game online at www.escapewestchester.com and use code WCUFamily to receive a discounted rate of just $22 per player!
Offer: Use promo code WCUFamily to receive a discounted rate of just $22 per player

Hours:
Fri - 5-9:30
Sat - 12-9:30
Sun - 11-4

116 S High Street (just past the 7-11)
  Community Partner Discounts WCU Families,
While you are in town visiting for Family Weekend, please consider visiting with these community partners who are offering discounts to you during the weekend.
 
Arnold’s Fun Center
 
American Helicopter Museum
 
American Treasure Tour Museum
 
Couch Tomato
 
Locust Lane Craft Brewing
 
Chickie & Pete’s
 
Stove & Tap West Chester
 
Palace Bowling & Entertainment Center
 
Landhope Farms Willowdale
 
Victory Brewing Co.
Find out more about the discounts and the locations here

 

Schedule - Friday, September 29, 2023

Time Event Description Location/Registration Link
6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Free Entry to the Student Recreation Center Enjoy free entry to our Student Recreation Center - a $7.00 value, free for the Ram Fam!

Student Recreation Center

Register for your pass 
here

1:00 p.m.  Golden Rams Men’s & Women’s Teams Swimming Join our WCU Golden Rams Swimming Teams as they compete against Shippensburg and Southern Connecticut University.

Graham Natatorium 855 S. New Street

6:00 p.m. Family Weekend Shabbat Dinner Join WCU Hillel for Family Weekend Shabbat Dinner in Sykes Student Union! We'll have a kosher menu featuring all your Shabbat favorites. All are invited and welcomed to attend. If you have any questions, please contact Jenn Reiss, Director of Jewish Student Life.

SECC Ballroom 101 A & B

6:00 p.m. Planetarium Show

Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore……

Explore the night sky in our very own on-campus Mather Planetarium with a Ph.D. Astronomer! Tickets are required.

Purchase your ticket here

7:00 p.m. WCU Women’s Volleyball

Come and watch our WCU Golden Rams Women’s volleyball team. They will be playing against Kutztown University.

Volleyball games are in Hollinger Field House. There is no cost for attendance.

Registration Link

7:30 p.m. Planetarium Show

Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore……

Explore the night sky in our very own on-campus Mather Planetarium with a Ph.D. Astronomer! Tickets are required.

Purchase your ticket here

7:00 – 10:00 p.m. Rams After Hours

Emerald City Lights

Join us for wizardry themed events that has something for everyone! Follow the yellow bring road to a night of escape rooms, karaoke, DIY treats, and a world of more for students and families to enjoy together.

Registration Link

 

Schedule - Saturday, September 30, 2023

Time Event Description Location/Registration Link
6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Free Entry to the Student Recreation Center Enjoy free entry to our Student Recreation Center - a $7.00 value, free for the Ram Fam!

Student Recreation Center

Register for your pass here

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Homecoming/Family Weekend Welcome Center Check-in for Homecoming/Family Weekend 2023 in Sykes Student Union, enjoy some refreshments, and receive exclusive swag! Sykes Student Union
9:00 am – 12:00 noon Off-Campus Housing Fair The Off-Campus Housing Fair is hosted by Off-Campus and Commuter Services (OCCS) and serves as an opportunity for students and their families to explore off-campus housing opportunities in West Chester by meeting with property managers, owners, and landlords. OCCS will also provide materials to support the off-campus housing search and opportunities to learn about leasing and living in the local community.   Sykes Ballrooms
 
Register  Here
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. WCU Wicked Block Party

Food trucks and games and giveaways. OH MY!!

There’s no place like WCU for a ramtastic good time at our Wicked Block Party and street festival! Events will be held on the yellow brick road between Hollinger Field House and the Sciences & Engineering Center and the Commons building (SECC). Come out and show your Ram Pride!!

Yellow brick road between the Sciences & Engineering Center and the Commons and Hollinger Field House
 
Register Here
10:30-11:15am; 1:30-2:15pm Future Rams Storytime

Join us Saturday, September 30th for a fall-themed, magical story time and craft at the University Libraries! This event is perfect for our up-and-coming Rams, ages 3-7 years old, but siblings and family of all ages are welcome to attend! You can expect a reading of age-appropriate children's books as well as a guided craft activity. For our Rams who might need a sensory break, spend this time in our Relaxing Rammie's Corner, or curl up with a book in one of our cozy beanbag chairs.

FHG Library, 1st floor Juvenile Room

No registration required

11:00 a.m.  Planetarium Show Explore the night sky in our very own on-campus Mather Planetarium with a Ph.D. Astronomer! TICKETS REQUIRED. 

Mather Planetarium –

Purchase your ticket here

12:00 p.m. WCU Men’s Soccer Our WCU Golden Rams Men’s soccer team will compete against Lock Haven University. Come out and support the team! Let’s go Rams!!

Rockwell Field – 855 S. New Street

12:30 p.m.  Planetarium Show Explore the night sky in our very own on-campus Mather Planetarium with a Ph.D. Astronomer! TICKETS REQUIRED. 

Mather Planetarium –
Purchase your ticket here

1:00 p.m. WCU Women’s Volleyball

Come and watch our WCU Golden Rams Women’s volleyball team. They will be playing against East Stroudsburg University.

Volleyball games are in Hollinger Field House. There is no cost for attendance.

Hollinger Field House

2:00 p.m. WCU Football vs. Bloomsburg University

Cheer on the Golden Rams as they face off against Millersville University and enjoy tunes from the Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band at half time!

The first 200 Family Weekend attendees will receive a complimentary concession voucher, courtesy of the WCU Foundation!
The first 400 Family Weekend attendees will also receive Homecoming/Family Weekend swag!

Parking at the stadium is $10 cash, but you are welcome to park for free on North Campus and take the free Campus Shuttle down to South Campus. The shuttle will pick up guests in front of Wayne Hall. Masks are required on the shuttle.

No backpacks or large bags will be allowed into the stadium. Prohibited items include, but are not limited to, purses larger than a clutch bag, backpacks, fanny packs, cinch bags, luggage of any kind, computer bags, camera bags or any bag larger than the permissible size. Exceptions will be made for medically necessary items after they have been inspected. As a reminder, alcohol is not permitted on the property or in the stadium.

John A. Farrell Stadium – purchase tickets here

2:30 pm Historical Walking Tour

Starting at the preserved Old Main archway on High Street--the symbolic beginning of the university--tourgoers will be treated to a one-hour overview of the evolution of the campus.   The tour will emphasize how the physical campus reflects the broadening of the school's educational mission as well as wider social changes.  The walking tour will take place around the historic quadrangle, a focus we will enhance by considering expansion to surrounding blocks.  Alumni are encouraged to share their own memories and stories as we stroll through campus history.

**For this tour, meet between Main Hall and the Library on High Street.

Register Here

 

4:00 pm Historical Walking Tour

Starting at the preserved Old Main archway on High Street--the symbolic beginning of the university--tourgoers will be treated to a one-hour overview of the evolution of the campus.   The tour will emphasize how the physical campus reflects the broadening of the school's educational mission as well as wider social changes.  The walking tour will take place around the historic quadrangle, a focus we will enhance by considering expansion to surrounding blocks.  Alumni are encouraged to share their own memories and stories as we stroll through campus history.

**For this tour, meet between Main Hall and the Library on High Street.

 

Register Here

 

8:00 pm WCU Live Featuring Comedian – Jay Pharoah

jay pharoah

Actor and comedian Jay Pharoah is one of the industry's most highly-anticipated leading men.

Pharoah was most recently seen in one of the biggest purchases out of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, THE BLACKENING, which premiered in their Midnight Madness section. THE BLACKENING sold out of the festival to Lionsgate and was released Juneteenth weekend, making back its production budget in the first few days of release. This year, Pharoah also starred in SPINNING GOLD as Cecil Homes, the right hand man of 1970s record producer Neil Bogart who co-founded Casablanca Records.

In the last few years, Pharoah has appeared in Comedy Central’s OUT OF OFFICE alongside Ken Jeong and Oscar Nuñez and in the independent comedy MORT IN SHERMAN OAKS with Lucy Hale and Jim Gaffigan. He starred in Netflix’s RESORT TO LOVE with Cristina Milian for producer Alicia Keys and in the Lionsgate thriller PRIVATE PROPERTY. Pharoah also co-starred opposite Harry Shum Jr. in Universal’s ALL MY LIFE, in Justin Simien’s critically acclaimed feature film BAD HAIR for Hulu, and in Lionsgate’s 2 MINUTES OF FAME for director Leslie Small.

On the small screen, Pharoah starred as “J.J. Evans” in ABC’s Emmy Award-winning Live in Front of a Studio Audience version of ALL IN THE FAMILY and GOOD TIMES. He also hosted and produced the hit Nickelodeon gameshow, UNFILTERED. 

Best known for his spot-on impressions, Pharoah spent six seasons as a cast member on NBC’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. In 2017, he shifted to his first leading role as ‘Floyd Mooney’ in Showtime’s WHITE FAMOUS, which was executive produced by Academy Award-winner Jaime Foxx and inspired by Foxx’s real-life experiences. 

Additional film and television credits include Sony Picture’s animated feature, THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, Steven Soderbergh’s UNSANE, Universal’s animated feature SING, CBS Films’ GET A JOB, CBS’s All Access’s REMOTE, FOX Searchlight’s LOLA VERSUS, FOX’s FAMILY GUY, FOX’s THE SIMPSONS, Netflix’s BOJACK HORSEMAN, and Cartoon Network’s ROBOT CHICKEN. He also currently serves as a consulting writer/producer on FAMILY GUY.

In addition to acting and his stand-up, Jay released his first EP titled “Spittin Image” in August 2021. The tracks are a marriage between Jay’s spot-on impressions and his love of songwriting and rapping. All songs are written by Jay and produced by Andrew Hypes.  

Pharoah continues to headline comedy clubs across the country throughout the year. 

Tickets are now on sale to the public here or 610.436.2266

 

Schedule - Sunday, October 1, 2023

Time Event Description Location/Registration Link
10:00 a.m. – 6:00 pm. WCU Families Explore Longwood Gardens

From the Longwood Gardens website:

Our Gardens are a living expression of all that our founder, Pierre S. du Pont, found inspiring, meaningful, and beautiful. From the intricate fountain systems to the meticulous gardens to the architectural grandeur, awe-inspiring discoveries await at every turn.

WCU Families who would like to go to Longwood Gardens on Sunday, October 1, 2023 will be able to use the promo code WCUPARENT and be given a 20% discount on adult tickets (making the cost $20/pp). This discount is valid on all adult tickets only on October 1st.

Purchase your Longwood Garden tickets here
10:30 am – 12:30 pm Ram Fam Brunch

Join us in The Commons for a family style brunch. The first 100 registrations will receive complimentary brunch tickets.

Additional WCU swag will also be available including an exclusive WCU Homecoming/Family Weekend  Weekend cutting board!

Register Here
11:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.  Free Entry to the Student Recreation Center

Enjoy free entry to our Student Recreation Center - a $7.00 value, free for the Ram Fam!

Student Recreation Center

Register for your pass 
here

 

Family Weekend Sponsors

PSECU Logo

Presenting Sponsor

First Bank Logo

Truist Logo

BBT

Platt Digiorgio + Difabio Logo