Stephanie Niknam, Contributing Writer
Family weekend is held every year so that students can reunite with their families and have the
opportunity to show them around SUNY Oneonta. I saw a decent amount of families roaming our
campus this weekend, but it wasn’t packed. My family did not visit, but I still attended events held at
SUNY Oneonta this Saturday with some of my friends, and I had a great time.
Our first stop was “Build Your Own Red Dragon” where we picked, stuffed, and named our own dragon
that we got to keep. A lot of students were there with younger siblings. There were also college students
without younger siblings, who also had a good time! The dragons are actually made of good quality
material, and are really cute. My one critique is that the dragons are orange, instead of red, which
confuses all of the people that have seen the dragons. Despite the color, building my own “red” dragon
was a fun and creative way for my friends and I to start our Saturday.
Our campus is the perfect size for an afternoon stroll, so my friends and I decided to go for a walk. Fall is
a fantastic time of year to go on these walks because our gorgeous campus is filled with colorful leaves
and trees that decorate the mountainside. I highly recommend for everyone to go on a walk around
campus during this time of year either alone, or with friends, to really appreciate the scenic views and
atmosphere.
Afterwards, we decided to go on a short trip to my new favorite ice cream shop, Pie in the Sky. We
heard about Pie in the Sky from a few people who really enjoyed their ice cream, so we decided to try it
for ourselves. When we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see pumpkins, mums, and other organic
fruits and vegetables for sale. Pie in the Sky also sells homemade goods, décor, antiques, and pastries.
The most important part though is the ice cream stand. One of my friends described their ice cream as
“life-changing.” I still feel the same after eating the ice cream, but it was delicious. All the same I
definitely will be going back to Pie in the Sky soon.
Our last family-less weekend event was the “Face-2-Face Tribute: The Music of Billy Joel and Elton John”
concert. It was a free concert for students, but it was basically catered for the parents visiting this
weekend. I didn’t mind that because I love the music of Billy Joel and Elton John. The performers
sounded very similar to Billy Joel and Elton John, which I appreciated. I personally thought the concert
was a bit long, and I even saw a few families leave, but my friends and I still had a great time.
Even though this weekend was family weekend, there were still activities offered that my friends and I
genuinely enjoyed. While we were there, I saw a lot of families having fun, and others who left because
they weren’t enjoying the activities as much. There were so many different families who all have
different backgrounds; there is no way that every activity would appeal to every family. I would
recommend only going to the events you and your family, or you and your friends, decide on before
hand, because there are many other great attractions in Oneonta to visit.
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