<p>Tell me of Parent's week-end. Is this exclusively for first year parents?</p>
<p>We are in MA and trying to decide whether to go for a day or the whole week-end.</p>
<p>Also trying to decide whether to bring the dog to make daughter happy or leave him at home.</p>
<p>Any insights on the Jazz Luncheon?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>No, Parent’s Weekend is for all parents, not just first-year parents. My Parents came every year except my senior year (since they were coming for graduation in the spring). It was really one of my favorite parts of the year, especially cause they lived on the opposite side of the country so otherwise I only saw them twice a year for a few weeks at a time. </p>
<p>Bringing your dog might be ok, but maybe check out if the hotels or B & B’s in the area (my parents always stayed at a local B & B vs. a hotel) allow dogs. It can be tricky because you can’t have dogs in the campus center or the academic buildings and you aren’t allowed to bring them into the houses really (though you probably could for a little bit without people getting really upset. Our housekeeper brought her puppies to tea once), so if the weather is not good, you’re stuck being outside, and you’ll have to tie him/her up when you go into buildings to visit. Ditto for shopping downtown and eating out there. Honestly, I think it’s better to leave the dog at home, maybe she can visit him during Fall Break. </p>
<p>As for the Jazz Luncheon, I love Smith Music but the Jazz band has never been more than adequate, and frequently the Jazz singers are actually pretty bad. They have had some stand out talents in the past, and definitely everyone works hard, but Smith simply does not attract very many students who are serious about Jazz. So rather than pay for a ticket, I would just go out to lunch with your daughter. </p>
<p>Other Parent’s weekend activities can be fun however. And my Dad is a big art buff so we always went to the Art Museum. They would rent a car and we went on some cool drives. One of America’s oldest scenic highways is right by Northampton, the Mohawk Trail. Makes a nice day out.</p>
<p>Hi - I think the Jazz brunch is already sold out. Last year we went for two days but mostly did our own thing around Noho. We did dot eh Sunday house brunch and while the food was so so we met a lot of our daughters friends that way. The Smith museum is great. The big issue with bringing the dog is that most hotels won’t let you leave them in the room unattended, plus there are only a few that take them to start with (we researched all this last year) and they aren’t the nicest of the bunch. That makes it hard to go out to meals etc unless your D can get permission to leave the dog in her room. You may find it is already pretty late to get a hotel if you need one but depending on where you are maybe you can do two day trips? (then you could bring the dog for one)</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. We usually camp when we travel, so doggie can easily stay in the tent with us. We can also bring his crate so that he can comfortably nap in the car. Part of the issue is we need to find a decent boarding place, but we haven’t yet. Because we usually camp, he just comes along. Might be time to find someplace decent.</p>
<p>Agree with the others. Dog is too problematic. We went for Parent’s weekend for two of the years: D vetoed sophomore year and junior year she was Away. </p>
<p>We mostly ignored the official schedule…had enough to do and, as S&P says, when you’re from all the way across the country, you value the time together more than listening to anything which even <em>might</em> be blah blah blah.</p>
<p>If you look on old posts on this topic there are also lots of good reviews of places to eat of campus.</p>
<p>We went to Family Weekend my D’s first year. In subsequent years, we picked other weekends to visit. The problem with Family Weekend was: 1. Hotels and Northampton were more crowded than usual 2. We weren’t impressed with most of the organized events and 3. It usually coincided with midterms and paper deadlines, which meant that my daughter couldn’t spend as much time with us as we all would have liked. The best part of the weekend (besides seeing my D!) was meeting her friends and having brunch in her house.</p>
<p>Although I think it’s important to attend the first Family Weekend if you can, we found that the weekend before was a much better time to visit. It was less stressful for all, and we could treat my D and her friends to a dinner out.</p>
<p>While we went on the designated weekend, all of MWFN’s points are valid. #2 and #3 were annoying and fortunately we were warned about #3 in advance and were able to leave allocated “space” so that D could get done what she needed to get done without us feeling deprived. On the plus side, we were able to corral some of her friends who didn’t have family coming and take them to dinner as well. I still think with awe about of one of those dinner-time conversations where I listened to her friends.</p>
<p>One of the highlights I’m looking forward to is Montage, the choral concert presented Saturday night. The Smith College Chorus (first-years), the Glee Club (upperclass), the Orchestra, the Wailing Banshees (Celtic), perhaps other ensembles I’ve forgotten, and the various a cappella groups all perform and they do an excellent job. It really gives you a chance to see how strong and varied the music is at Smith.</p>
<p>disclaimer - from a parent of an '06 grad, so info may be somewhat dated</p>
<p>H and I attended every Family Weekend for which D was on campus – we figured it was our reward weekend LOL! We did not go her junior fall because D was on a leave of absence then, working in China for six months (our family’s answer to a no-cost meaningful abroad experience).</p>
<p>We attended MANY scheduled events, and regretted none. We even enjoyed the Jazz Brunch! (Food was good, having reservations for this on-campus event spared us the hassle and inconvenience of dealing with overcrowded in-town restaurants, and the music was fine by me!)</p>
<p>We always attended Montage, as D performed in Chrorus and then Glee Club.</p>
<p>We typically managed to fit in a theater performance. </p>
<p>H and I would occasionally split up. I attended some panel discussions (one year Gloria Steinem was one of the panelists). I attended President Christ’s talks, after which she took questions, responding to every one. </p>
<p>Our family found the Art Museum to be a great place to wander and talk when we had unstructured time. </p>
<p>One advantage of going during the official weekend is that you get to meet the parents of your D’s friends and housemates. We enjoyed getting together with one particular family at D’s house meals for several years. </p>
<p>Hope the weather is good for the weekend – it is usually scheduled for peak foliage time, but seems late this year. </p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p>I should clarify that if my daughter had stayed in the orchestra, we would have gone every year. We did attend the events, and the best ones showcased the students. And here’s another vote for the Art Museum, although you can visit it any time.</p>
<p>If you are renting a car at the airport, please allow plenty of time for that. Last year I waited in line for almost an hour before I got to the counter!</p>
<p>So, we went, we camped, we brought the dog. He was a trooper, and our daughter was really happy to see him. If anyone saw the white Standard Poodle, that was Kobe.</p>
<p>NEmomof2, we have two standard poodles, too, an elderly black and a rambunctious white, but since we only live 1-1/2 hours away, it’s our daughter’s sophomore year and she didn’t need us there for the whole weekend (we see her other times), we left the dogs at home and drove out for Friday night and Saturday night. For our son’s Parents Weekend in late September at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY, we wound up tent-camping because we tried to make reservations much too late, but we had a dog-sitter for the weekend. I admire your managing camping with your dog!</p>
<p>CarolynB. If you live near me (SE MA), we should get our rambunctious white spoos together for a play date. He was actually really good about camping. I think that entering the tent through the fly will help with his agility work where he needs to go through a nylon chute :).</p>
<p>Yes, we live in SE MA as well! A play date it is! I’ve been interested in agility for a while so we have lots to talk about. Let’s PM.</p>