Hundreds Enjoy 'Parent & Family Weekend' Festivities

– Photos by Abdullah H. Muaddi, student photographer; Cindy Davis Meixel, writer/photo editor;
Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday; and Neal Palmer, maître d'hôtel

... and the sweet kind!

Pretzels with President's Council tantalized taste buds with the salty kind …

At the pretzel social, Gilmour chats with Owen R. Boyle (left), a senior in automotive technology management from Hellertown, and his girlfriend, Breann.

Visiting from her home in Churchville, Susan Watterson, holds up her phone to show a photo of the ingenious jeans hangar she crafted earlier that day for her son, Donald "Alan" Watterson, a sophomore transfer enrolled in information technology sciences: gaming and simulation. Delighting in the visual of a sturdy curtain rod with several hanging clips are (from left) Mike Cunningham, Tom Gregory and Fred Gilmour. Also enjoying the congenial moment at the President's Council social is Catherine A. Oliver, Dining Services catering attendant, in the background.

Gunnar C. Larsen (left), and his father, Doug, chat with Carolyn Strickland during the Pretzels with President's Council social. Larsen is a freshman in information technology sciences: gaming and simulation, hailing from the Lincoln University area of Chester County.

Kyani L. Lawrence (center), a first-year pre-nursing major from New Rochelle, New York, who also served as a Connections Link this summer, poses with her family in Wrapture.

In the Klump Academic Center Auditorium, Gilmour and Sara Ousby (to the president's right) welcome families to the Friday night performance by Lynn Trefzger, a ventriloquist and comedian.

Camelot, a camel character commanded by Trefzger, jokingly harasses audience members.

A good-sport grandfather, who was invited on stage, willingly holds a "baby" and is folded into Trefzger's act.

Student Activities' Mary Jane Baier greets registrants at the Bush Campus Center information center, adding a welcome burst of friendly to the day's drizzly start.

With props and personality to spare, Cody M. Yonkin and Shelby K. Roche harvest smiles (and a first-place finish in public voting) with a seasonal Midnight Hay Ride blend of apple cider, cinnamon and caramel. Roche is a hospitality management student from Dalton and Yonkin, of South Williamsport, is a culinary arts technology major.

Randall C. Janowitz, a culinary arts and systems major from Westminster, Maryland, pours samples of the Maroon Dragon, co-created with Patrick N. Goldy (left), a hospitality management student from Williamsport.

Undaunted by the challenge (and undead by all appearances), Stephanie G. DeWalt, a hospitality management student from Williamsport, entices guests to try a Zombie Brain Sour. Mixing the mocktail behind her is classmate Cody M. Weber, a culinary arts and systems student from Jersey Shore.

Heckling and huckstering the crowd, a cane-wielding Joel E. Reichenbach, of Dornsife, promises that his Health Flask will "make you feel better than you look." The concoction, which included a dash of cayenne pepper, was served by his fellow culinary arts and systems major Zachary A. Knol, of Annville.

Shelly Marshall, of Pottstown (whose daughter, Justene A., is enrolled in the business administration: management concentration), exhibits a steady hand and calm concentration as she hand-paints a Penn College-themed wine glass.

Culinary arts and systems students Sarah B. Fiedler (left), of Lock Haven, and Jaclyn C. Gregg, of Warriors Mark - with T-shirts that complement their watermelon whimsy - await a parent's verdict on their Tropical Cooler.

Muddled fruit and a suitably colorful presentation are among the ingredients in the Tutti-Fruity Rainbow, offered by Amber S. English (left), a hospitality management major from Lewistown, and Krystalis R. Kerr, of Danville, majoring in culinary arts and systems.

Happy to serve are Sammera T. Fleming (left), of Philadelphia, and Alyssa J. Morales, of Williamsport. The culinary arts and systems students blended a variety of fruits and juices for an Off the Island treat.

Horticulture students and their families dropped into a Campus Center conference room for career advice from 2013 alumnus Jeremy L. Thorne (left), an installation foreman with Scott's Landscaping Inc. in Centre Hall, and faculty member Carl J. Bower Jr.

The early-afternoon drizzle didn't deter visitors from strolling the gloriously green grounds of the Victorian House.

Framed by trees and fronted by rain-soaked Park Street, River Valley Transit's Carl E. Stotz Trolley takes another load of campus guests on a 45-minute tour of Williamsport's Historic District and downtown.

David W. DeRosato (foreground), of Norristown, majoring in building automation technology: electrical technology concentration, joins his sister, Marie, and his father, Bill, at the wine glass-painting activity in Penn's Inn.

The Intramural Family Challenge offers a selection of fun and games, including volleyball and ladder golf, in the Field House.

Participants enjoy family recreation (and a break from the rain) inside the Field House.

Ambassador Ryan Monteleone checks in passengers boarding the trolley outside the Bush Campus Center.

Eric M. Santiago, an automotive restoration technology student from Vineland, New Jersey, with his family in the Victorian House gazebo

Welcoming guests for self-guided tours of the student-designed and -built Victorian House are Presidential Student Ambassadors Cassandra B. Mohr (left) and Morgan N. Keyser.

Dining Services assistant manager Christopher R. Grove, of Linden, and friend – from whom the picnic pork was pulled.

Families move through the serving line in the Keystone Dining Room, where the picnic was moved due to inclement weather.

Dining Services workers at the ready (from left) are Julia E. Dunkleberger, Marcia G. Tanner, Teresa J. Sprenkle and Doris F. Hall.

A table-hopping president makes families feel welcome in their students' home away from home.

As skies clear, weekend visitors gather outdoors for a giveaway.

Antony L. Griffin-Betterson (center right), a residential construction technology and management major from Philadelphia, enjoys picnic fare with his family.

Richard M. Colegrove, who graduated from Williamsport Area Community College in 1972 with a degree in social work, talks with President Davie Jane and Fred Gilmour in the Keystone Dining Room. Colegrove's son, Max A., is a first-year aviation technology student at Penn College.

Courtney M. McCartan (left rear), of West Mifflin, who majors in the dental hygiene-health policy and administration concentration, enjoys bingo with the family.

Shane S. Zeigler, a building construction technology student from Horsham, reels in a bingo prize.

Do we have a winner?!?!??

Not to be outdone by any area fire hall on any given Saturday, the KDR fills with bingo players.

Kicking back with family is Ryan M. Kurtz, a construction management major from Center Valley.

Helping to ensure the weekend runs smoothly are (from left) Anthony J. Pace, Kimberly R. Cassel and Sara H. Ousby, part of the winning Student Activities team in charge of the events.

Among the evening's door prizes was this hand-carved eagle.

Outside the dining hall, a line forms for the novelty photo booth.

Ousby with the second-prize winners in the mixology competition: Maria K. Maneval (left), a culinary arts and systems student from Richfield, and Seth A. Ruch, of Linden, enrolled in hospitality management. Their Run Way Apple drink – including apples, milk, cinnamon and vanilla ice cream – was among the top vote-getters in a dayful of yumminess.