Fall Family Weekend

2023 schedule of events

Friday, Oct. 27

2-6 p.m.

Registration in Riley Hall

Stop by the registration table in Riley Hall to say hello. While there, pick up your welcome packet and any tickets you have purchased. Grab a campus map or brochure on local restaurants.

4-6 p.m.

Wine tasting at a downtown tasting room

Register to participate in the wine tasting and be assigned to visit one of three tasting rooms on historic Third Street in downtown McMinnville. While exploring downtown and sampling some Willamette Valley wines, visit with other Linfield parents. Each tasting room will have a campus administrator as a host. You might have the opportunity to visit with the university president, the dean of students or a staff member from career services.

$20 fee for those tasting wine.

7 p.m.

"The Stories Behind the Stories: Behind the Scenes of Dark Horse Comics Most Iconic Projects"
Graf Hall 120

Since the 1980s, Dark Horse Comics has told the stories from some of the most iconic pop culture franchises – from Star Wars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to The Mask, Hellboy and The Umbrella Academy (to name merely a few). CEO and Founder Mike Richardson shares some of his favorite stories behind the stories of this iconic media brand.

7 p.m.

Men's Basketball Game
Ted Wilson Gymnasium

The Linfield men's basketball team takes on the Seattle Mountaineers in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27 in Ted Wilson Gymnasium. Come cheer on your Wildcats in their season opener.

7:30 p.m.

Linfield Theatre Production, The Wolves
Marshall Theatre in Ford Hall

The first full production of our 2023-24 season is The Wolves, a 2017 Pulitzer–prize finalist by Sarah DeLappe. The play follows nine teenage girls on an indoor soccer team through the important, mundane, tragic and hilarious events of adolescence. As the characters move through sequences of soccer drills, this ensemble piece stages an examination of physical and mental health during one of the most tumultuous times of life. With overlapping dialogue accompanying a movement score that reflects bodies pushed to the extreme, The Wolves offers a messy reflection on community and team, bodies in their ugliness and grace, hearts raw and overflowing.

Performance dates are Oct. 26-28.

Saturday, Oct. 28

9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Registration in Riley Hall

Stop by the registration table in Riley Hall to say hello. While there, pick up your welcome packet and any tickets you have purchased. Grab a campus map or brochure on local restaurants.

10 a.m.

Career path exploration and preparation
T.J. Day Hall 222

Join Linfield’s career development team for an interactive presentation about all the ways the career center supports students, year by year, to get ready to launch their career. Discover ways in which you as a parent can be helpful in the process. We all know that college is a significant investment meant to position students for life post-graduation. Regardless of major, a successful career path begins with leveraging the guidance and services Linfield’s career development offers.

10 a.m.

International programs at Linfield
Riley Hall 201

Are you and your student interested in learning more about Linfield’s study-abroad opportunities? Please join us for a brief panel presentation by past participants of our semester/year abroad programs and January Term off-campus courses. We look forward to answering your questions!

10 a.m.

Swim Meet
Aquatic Center

Cheer on the "Wetcats" as they participate in the Northwest Conference Sprint Meet.

11 a.m.

Faculty mini-talks
Riley Hall 201 

Attend a sample class. Three Linfield professors will give a 15-minute lecture on a subject of interest to them. Ashlie Johnson, professor of psychology, will explore the psychology of eating. Brian Winkenweder, professor of art, will look at a banana duct taped to a canvas and seek to answer the question, “Is it art?" Dawn Nowacki, professor of political science, will speak about Ukraine and the current crisis. We promise you will not be tested, but you just might learn something. This will be a great way to sample the type of material your student may be learning.

1-4 p.m.

Explore downtown McMinnville

Linfield is so lucky to have a home in the heart of McMinnville and Yamhill County. Spend an hour or two exploring downtown. Merchants are eager to welcome you. Have some bubble tea at the Velvet Monkey, find your next great read at Third Street Books, unearth a treasure at Oodles or Bella Casa, or simply scout out a restaurant or winery to try later.

1 p.m.

Football game vs. Pacific University
Maxwell Field

The Wildcat football team takes on Pacific University. Reserved seats are $20 each. Those are the seats under the covered bleachers. Linfield students with a valid Linfield ID card are admitted to the game for free and may sit in the general admission seats at no charge. However, if they wish to sit with family members in the covered stands, they will need to purchase a reserved ticket. 

$25 for reserved (covered) seats; $15 for general admission (uncovered) seats.

6 p.m.

Women's Volleyball
Ted Wilson Gymnasium

Support your Wildcats as they go head-to-head against the George Fox Bruins. Catch all of the action in Ted Wilson Gymnasium. Admission is free.

7:30 p.m.

Linfield Theatre Production, The Wolves
Marshall Theatre in Ford Hall

The first full production of our 2023-24 season is The Wolves, a 2017 Pulitzer–prize finalist by Sarah DeLappe. The play follows nine teenage girls on an indoor soccer team through the important, mundane, tragic and hilarious events of adolescence. As the characters move through sequences of soccer drills, this ensemble piece stages an examination of physical and mental health during one of the most tumultuous times of life. With overlapping dialogue accompanying a movement score that reflects bodies pushed to the extreme, The Wolves offers a messy reflection on community and team, bodies in their ugliness and grace, hearts raw and overflowing.

Performance dates are Oct. 26-28.

Puffs at Gallery Theater
Happening off campus

The local community theater is producing Puffs. The New York Times proclaims Puffs “A fast-paced romp through the ‘Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic.’ For Potterphiliacs who grew up alongside Potter and are eager to revisit that world, Puffs exudes a jovial, winking fondness for all things Harry!”

This clever and inventive play “never goes more than a minute without a laugh,” (Nerdist) giving you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside them are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers “who are so lovable and relatable, you’ll leave the theater wishing they were in the stories all along” (Hollywood Life). Their “hilariously heartfelt” (Metro) and epic journey takes the classic story to new places and reimagines what a boy wizard hero can be.

Adults are $20, student tickets are $16. There is a $2 discount for those who register via Family Weekend. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday performances are 2 p.m.