Fall Weekend will see a variety of events catered towards students and their parents. (Illustration by Hiya Khan ’28 for The Lafayette)

This year, three major college traditions – Family Weekend, Fall Fest and Homecoming – have been combined into one weekend, straying from their previous dispersed schedule.

The events, together named “Fall Weekend,” will take place on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26. Last year, Fall Fest and Homecoming were on the same weekend, with responses from families, students and alumni being “extremely positive,” according to Mary Neuenschwander, the director of alumni relations.

“The reaction suggested that combining these two events provided an exciting way to strengthen community across our Lafayette campus,” Neuenschwander wrote in an email.

In previous years, these three Lafayette traditions were held on separate days across September and October.

“The biggest addition to these events being combined is that all members of the Lafayette community have an opportunity to engage on campus with a full slate of events and activities,” Neuenschwander wrote.

Events during Family Weekend include lunch, tours and lectures, while Fall Fest will offer pumpkin painting and a petting zoo on the Quad.

“Combining these events allows for everyone in our Lafayette community to enjoy the full benefit of an exciting weekend on campus,” Neuenschwander wrote.

Homecoming football games have a history of high attendance, according to Philip LaBella, the director of athletic communications. LaBella speculated that this year will not be any different, writing in an email that the weekend “will be one of the busiest weekends of the fall from an athletics standpoint.”

“Having alumni, family and friends on campus also tends to boost support for all of our sports,” he wrote.

Julianne Lindars, who attended a previous Family Weekend as a parent, said that she can see the benefit a combined event could have in attracting more people to the events.

“I think as long as they offer a breadth of activities, families will be happy,” Lindars said.

Lindars expressed hope that the college would continue to offer some of the informational activities that she and her family enjoyed last Family Weekend.

“It’s where our son is spending four years of his life,” Lindars said. “So it was really nice that we could get to know the campus and history more in-depth.”

Parth Mahajan ’27 contributed reporting.