The sun shines bright over a busy Main Quad this afternoon. Moms, daughters and other family members are filling campus streets wearing sunglasses and holding refreshing drinks. Their smiling faces indicate the start of the 100th anniversary of Moms Weekend. 

Established in 1923, the University’s Moms Association will host various events for this weekend. In preparation for festivities, Kristen Miller, president of the Moms Association, and Kristin Stiefvater, vice president of Fundraising, handed out pre-ordered apparel in the Illini Union North Lounge until 3 p.m. 

According to Miller, there are more events being offered for families to celebrate this year coordinated with the help of the association’s 20 board members. Many of the board members are alumni. “It’s just all hands on deck this weekend,” Miller said. 

Around the corner in the Union Art Gallery, the Moms Association Centennial Celebration Reception will begin at 4:30 p.m. 

The Parent and Family Programs Office will host Miller; Chancellor Robert Jones, who will give its opening remarks; and other prominent members of the University.

Sydney Collins, sophomore in FAA, said she and her mother are visiting Japan House today. 

“I like to see everyone out, especially since it’s nice out,” Collins said. “I think it’ll be busy.”

Susan Collins, Sydney’s mother, said she is excited to take advantage of the nice weather and party at Red Lion tonight. 

“Why not? When in Rome!” she said. 

Moria Danko, junior in LAS, said she is celebrating Moms Weekend with her older sister. The sister duo plans to attend a tote bag painting event and Sunday brunch hosted by her sorority, Chi Omega. 

“I’m really excited to spend some quality time with my sister,” Danko said. 

A warm, spring start to the weekend is sure to kick-off an eventful celebration of Illini moms.

Be sure to check back for more updates about Mom’s Weekend throughout the weekend. 

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The time is closer to sunset, the weather is cooling off and Main Quad is becoming more packed, welcoming families for Moms Weekend. People are spending time walking around the campus, having picnics and listening to favorite songs together. 

“I’m thrilled that it’s nice and warm,” said Lynn Zimmer, Illini and Delta Zeta mom. “So we’ve been just walking around campus, getting coffee, probably doing some shopping — it’s Illini wear.”

Meanwhile, life in the sororities becomes even more fun during the next three days. New members of the sororities cannot wait to share their experience of sisterhood with their moms. 

“I’m excited to share with her my sorority,” said Ali Kessler, freshman in Education and Chi Omega member, about her mom.  “(The sorority) became so special to me, so I can’t wait for her to meet everyone that holds a special place in my heart.”

Preparing for Moms Weekend, sororities prepared brunches and fundraising activities with their families. 

“Tomorrow we’re doing a tote bag painting party and a Kendra Scott pop-up, so it’ll be fun and then 20% of that goes to Make-A-Wish,” Kessler said. 

Even though the weekend is called Moms Weekend, the Main Quad is crowded with Illini dads, willing to enjoy this weekend with their children. 

“(My expectations about this weekend are) spending more time with (my daughter) and we are here mostly for the food and for the beverages,” said Dave Harbaugh, Illini dad. 

Some parents coming this weekend are University alumni, wishing to experience college life again — this time with their kids. 

“In my case, my mom came down for Moms Weekend, so it’s pretty surreal to be the mom and not the student,” said Dawn Barry, Illini mom and University ’97 alum. “I want to get some mother-daughter pictures and do some of the things that I got to do as a student.”

However, this weekend not all students are expecting to see their parents, especially out-of-state and international Illini.

“My mom and my family live in Boston,” said Gina Ren, sophomore in Education. “During this weekend I will spend time with my roommate, (and we’ll) have dinner together.” 

This weekend has promising evening programs, both students and their parents can’t wait to see “Grease” performed by Illini Student Musicals. According to the theater’s website, almost all tickets for today’s show are sold out. 

“I am in a musical here, ‘Grease,’ this weekend,” said Amanda Barry, freshman in LAS. “The majority of the time we’ll be spending is seeing me perform.”

After the show today, many Illini moms and students will get a chance to experience real campus nightlife. For more details about bars this weekend, check out The Daily Illini Moms Weekend Bar Preview Guide. 

“We had so much fun last year, and now that Meenah is 21, it should be even more fun!” said Philomena Harbaugh, Illini and Alpha Omicron Pi mom. “We’re gonna go to the Red Lion tonight for ‘F*ck It Buckets,’ and tomorrow we have block at KAMS.’’

This weekend promises to be full of events and fun. Stay tuned for more updates from The Daily Illini throughout the whole Moms Weekend. 

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Thousands of mothers stroll into the annual Illini Union Board Craft and Vendor Fair, bonding with their children while purchasing art supplies.

Katie Storlwel and her daughter, Miranda Storlwel, are first-time attendees at the fair. Miranda wanted her mom to visit because she will be graduating next fall.

Miranda Storlwel said this was her mother’s first time visiting her at the University.

“She is graduating soon so she insisted that I visit her,” Katie Storlwel said. “It’s wonderful.”

The mother-daughter duo said that they already had a close relationship, but today’s activities had brought them even closer together.

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Dogs pant, lapping up water sprayed from a bottle. The partly cloudy day comes to a close as the sun starts to set.

However, the foot traffic in Campustown continues to grow. Waves of people continue to flow through Green Street. At every turn, one can always spot a mother accompanied by her child.

“We made it like a family weekend, not just Moms Weekend,” said Peggy Tsevis, a Sigma Nu mom.

Tsevis celebrated the weekend by attending Mother’s Day Brunch, walking around the University of Illinois Arboretum and attending Sigma Nu events.

“We don’t have a lot of time with them anymore,” Tsevis said. “When they get home, they’re working, they’re seeing their girlfriends, they’re doing this and that. Right now, it’s all about us.”

From 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., the UIUC Horticulture Club hosted its 2023 Spring Plant Fair. The event sold household plants, from succulents to flowering plants.

Danielle Chao, a volunteer at the event, said the RSO had to cart plants back and forth from the Plant Biology Greenhouse to the Plant Sciences Laboratory.

“There was a lot of prep,” Chao said. “Some volunteers went from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. yesterday.”

Chao started buying plants during the COVID-19 lockdown, and became interested in succulents when her mother bought her a succulent kit.

“I mainly have succulents, probably 90% of my collection is succulents,” Chao said.

Kate Gehrke, senior in LAS, and her mother, Ellyn Gehrke, also attended the plant fair.

“I love plants, I’ve got more than 20,” Kate Gehrke said. “(My mother) indulges me over Moms Weekend in my obsessions.”

Earlier, Kate Gehrke and her mother participated in the Illini Union Craft Fair and the ARC’s Zumba class.

“(The class) was the instructor and her stepmom,” she said. “So that was really cute, too.”

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For those who couldn’t get a seat at the Illini Union’s Sunday brunch — or who declined the $35 ticket price — off-campus restaurants such as Champaign’s Original Pancake House and Urbana’s Courier Cafe served as popular Moms Weekend destinations.

Only the earliest patrons skipped long lines for breakfast on Moms Weekend.

At the Original Pancake House, just two miles off campus, moms and their families could expect wait times of nearly two hours at noon. The restaurant’s close proximity to the University, alongside the arrivals of parents and their cars, brought students in.

A similar effect took place at Courier Cafe, where patrons could expect an hour or more wait if they arrived after 10 a.m. 

If students want to skip the wait next year, it will have to come at the expense of sleeping in.

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