Families Weekend

10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

For current and ongoing exhibits please visit The Loeb website.

James W Palmer Gallery, College Center

The Supper Club       
58 portraits of contemporary artists of color and a series of salon-style dinners by photographer Elia Alba. Palmer Gallery Website.

3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.

The Haiti Project: Sale of Haitian Art

Main Building / College Center, Multi-Purpose Room

Come for the sale of 350 original Haitian paintings and hundreds of original handicrafts, including hand-painted silk scarves, iron sculptures, and papier-mâché goods. The Haiti Project engages students in a life-changing experiential education in global citizenship, fosters sustainable development in Haiti, and promotes Haitian art. (Handicrafts start at $5 and paintings at $50. All purchases are 50% tax deductible.)

4:00 p.m.

Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Collection

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

Reception in The Atrium

5:30p.m. Panel Discussion, Taylor 102

For current and ongoing exhibits please visit The Loeb website.

7:00 p.m.

Shabbat with Chabad Jewish Community

Chabad House, 94 Fulton Avenue

Join the Chabad Jewish Community (CJC) for a warm, family style shabbat experience! A home cooked meal will be served complete with vegan and vegetarian options. All are welcome! Please RSVP by emailing rsl@vassar.edu. When you RSVP, please indicate if you plan to attend Shabbat with VJU or CJC.

10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

The Haiti Project: Sale of Haitian Art

Main Building / College Center, Multi-Purpose Room

Remarks by Ms. Sarah Planton at 4 p.m.

(See Friday’s schedule for complete information.)

10:15 a.m.–11:15 a.m.

Oh, The Places They’ll Go: A Very Vassar Summer

The Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, Martel Theater

Learn more about how students spend their summer breaks and hear from a panel of students to discover what Vassar can do to support an unforgettable summer experience. Hosted and moderated by Stacy Bingham, Associate Dean of the College for Career Education.

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Conversation with the President and the Deans

The Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, Martel Theater

A Conversation with Elizabeth H. Bradley, President of the College; Marianne H. Begemann, Dean of Strategic Planning and Academic Resources; Kelli Duncan, Faculty Director of Teaching Development; and Luis Inoa, Associate Dean of the College for Student Living and Wellness.

12:00 p.m.–3 p.m.

Car Wash

Lathrop & Strong Parking Lot

Sponsored by the Ski Team will be in the Lathrop/Strong

12:45 p.m.–2:00 p.m.

Walking Tour of the Vassar Arboretum

Main Building

A ramble through central campus to learn about the history of the Vassar Arboretum, Andrew Jackson Downing’s campus landscape influence, information on some of the interesting trees in our 220 species collection, our native plants and Ecological Preserves and enticing bits of campus history. The tour begins at the front entrance to Main Building. Hosted by Mark Schlessman, Emeritus Professor of Biology and Laura Graceffa ’87.

1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

ALANA Fest

Residential Quad

ALANA Fest, one of the Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center’s core events, makes visible, celebrates, and builds community with students of color at Vassar. This large annual event includes catering by local restaurants, performances by guest artists from the local community and BIPOC student performers, and tabling & interactive activities led by ALANA organization leaders, administrative offices, program assistants, and Poughkeepsie residents.

Photo credit: Karl Rabe

Music in the Loeb

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

Featuring, each half hour, a selection of the College’s many different ensembles and soloists.

• 1:00 p.m. - Vassar College Treble Choir
• 1:30 p.m. - Vassar College Chamber Singers
• 2:00 p.m. - Vassar College Choir
• 2:30 p.m. - Soloists from the Department
• 3:00 p.m. - Chamber Music I
• 3:30 p.m. - Chamber Music II        
   

2:00 p.m.

Vassar College Women’s Volleyball

Kenyon Hall

Vassar vs William Smith vs United States Merchant Marine Academy

2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

Walking Tour of the Preserve at Vassar

The Environmental Cooperative and Preserve, 50 Vassar Farm Lane

Join the Environmental Cooperative and Preserve staff for a two-hour tour of The Preserve at Vassar’s 400-plus acres. The tour will start and end in the quad outside of the Vassar Barn (50 Vassar Farm Lane). This tour covers easy to moderate terrain and includes many opportunities for wildlife viewing. Come learn some history about The Preserve at Vassar and get up to date on our current research and monitoring projects. Please wear comfortable footwear suitable for hiking and long pants to protect against ticks and poison ivy. Please RSVP for the Tour

3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m

The Capotorto and Mulas Family Lecture in Film

The Vogelstein Center for Drama & Film, Martel Theater

American director/cinematographer Ellen Kuras will speak about her groundbreaking and visionary work. Ellen is one of the first female members of the American Society of Cinematographers and was also the first woman to receive its Lifetime Achievement award. She is a pioneer known for her work on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Blow (2001). Kuras’ latest project is the biographical period drama, LEE, about photographer Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, a fashion model from Poughkeepsie who became a war correspondent for Vogue during World War II. The film stars Academy Award-winner, Kate Winslet. Moderated by Mia Mask, Professor of Film on the Mary Riepma Ross Chair.

5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.

Families Weekend Reception: Hudson Valley Harvest

Bridge for Laboratory Sciences

You and your student are invited to stop by and sample some of the Hudson Valley’s bounty at a very casual Vassar Families Weekend Reception, catered by Twisted Soul.

8:00 p.m.

Faculty Concert: Quintet 2x, Trevor Babb, guitar and friends

Skinner Hall / Mary Anna Fox Martel Recital Hall

Vassar guitar faculty member Trevor Babb will be joined by Matt Sargent, Blair McMillan, Evan Runyon, and Taylor Long in a program of contemporary chamber music written or adapted for modern rock band instrumentation. The quintet will give a world premiere of Babb’s composition “Severe Itch” and will perform other works by Julius Eastman, Paula Matthusen, John Cage, and Larry Polansky. This virtuosic program will combine the energy of rock music and ethereal soundscapes with the craft of classical composition for a musical experience you won’t want to miss. For more information about event requirements, reservations, and registration please email music@vassar.edu.

9:00 a.m. (Race Start)

Braga 5K: Not One More

Joss Beach (in front of Josselyn House)

The inaugural Braga 5K Run/Walk is named in honor of U.S. Army veteran and Vassar College alum, Fernando Braga ’17, who died by suicide in 2022. The purpose of this annual race is to raise awareness of veteran suicide in the United States, which continues to be significantly higher than the national average. All are welcome to join this momentous event. Read more about the Run/Walk at braga5k.com.

10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

The Haiti Project: Sale of Haitian Art

Main Building / College Center, Multi-Purpose Room

(See Friday’s schedule for complete information.)

1:00 p.m.

Highlights Tour

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center

Highlights from the permanent collection. The collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center charts the history of art from antiquity to the present and comprises over 21,000 works. (Hours of operation, daily, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.)

3:00 p.m.

In Homage

Skinner Hall of Music

Pianist and Vassar Adjunct Artist in Music Thomas Sauer explores the idea of musical homage: his own to his late teacher, Edward Aldwell, and several tributes from one composer to another. The Afro-Cuban-American composer Tania León’s “Homenatge” pays respect to the Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge, and Astor Piazzolla’s “Adios Nonino” is dedicated to the memory of his father. The program closes with Brahms’s tribute to Handel and the musical Baroque, his Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. For more information about event requirements, reservations, and registration please email music@vassar.edu

4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Episcopal Church at Vassar College

Pratt House

Weekly ecumenical Protestant worship at Pratt House. All Christians or folks curious about Christianity are welcome—we are an inclusive, queer-affirming group! For more information, contact rsl@vassar.edu.