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Pitt State is home to many well-loved traditions, including the annual Family Day celebration, a festive day for PSU Gorillas and their loved ones to celebrate their university, community, and family with another time-honored tradition in the Jungle: Pitt State football.
“The whole weekend is family weekend in conjunction with campus activities and just campus wide, the Alumni Center puts on a Gorilla Family Fun Day which are activities for kids three to 12,” Danielle Driskilo, assistant director of alumni relations, said. “So, we have 25 minutes rotation and we have almost 300 people signed up today. Everyone has gorilla hats on. Yeah, just a great way to engage our families and their kids.”
This year’s Family Day took place Saturday, Sept. 22. Pre-game festivities began at 10 a.m. with free coffee and donuts sponsored by Barnes & Noble at the PSU campus bookstore, where Family T-shirts were also available. Families could get a free photo and complimentary picture frame from the Campus Activities Center (CAC) outside the bookstore as well between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
At 11:30 a.m., families enjoyed a free lunch at Cleveland Plaza with PSU President Steve Scott, and the heart of Family Day activities started at 12:30 p.m. in Gorilla Village with food trucks, live music, barbeque, bouncy castles, and more.
“There is a group from the Advancement Ambassadors that is helping out with Family. So this is a special event for families with kids,” Abby Adams, PSU junior in marketing and management, said. “They will go to the Gorilla Fest after this and they have a meal voucher.”
Families engaged in the Gorilla Fest activities before going to the football game at 7 that was held in Carnie Smith Stadium. Mary Gingrich, mother of a freshman in automotive engineering, said that she traveled from Topeka, Kansas to attend Family Day.
“We did the funny picture, the photo booth, and we did the lunch,” Gingrich said. “And now we are doing the kids family activities and we’re going to tailgate and do the football game.”
The last activity of the day before the game was Loteria, or Hispanic cultural bingo, hosted by Hispanics of Today (HOT) from 6 to 7 p.m. at the West Shelter House in Gorilla Village.
Kickoff was at 7 between Pitt State and Nebraska Kearney. The Gorillas emerged victorious with a score of 30-17.
