For most of you, you’ve lived with your parents for the last 18 years. When you were growing up, they showed you around your home town, brought you to restaurants and movie theaters and provided you with entertainment. Now that you’re moving to campus, you get the chance to entertain them when they come visit you.

And there are plenty opportunities for them to come visit.

Every year, campus has a weekend dedicated to each of your parents. Dads Weekend is in the fall, and the main entertainment is the football game, which is against Miami (Ohio) this year. Moms Weekend is in the spring. Campus rolls out a spring musical and a flower show for your mother’s enjoyment.

In addition to these planned weekends, parents are welcome on campus at all times, and you’ll find that there is plenty for you to do with them.

Dining

First, your parents will have to eat. Campus offers plenty of food opportunities that will ensure your parents don’t starve during their visit. You can take your parents to eat with you at your dorm — but for a hefty sum. Instead, I would recommend trying out many of downtown Champaign’s restaurants. Downtown offers unique recipes like deep fried bacon at Destihl. It offers great sushi at KoFusion, which will soon be adding another location on campus. There are plenty of other places to grab sliders (Seven Saints), Mongolian food (Mongolia 301) and Irish classics (Dublin O’Neil’s).

If you would rather stay close to campus, Green Street bars Legends and Murphy’s both offer solid menus. I would definitely recommend Legends’ fish sandwich and Murphy’s French fries. For more quality cuisine, campus offers Italian food at Timpone’s on Goodwin Avenue in Urbana.

Entertainment 

Campus bars can also provide entertainment for you and your parents, if they’re into that sort of thing. If not, Krannert offers many shows from orchestras to rock concerts. You (and possibly your parents) don’t want to miss Ellnora or Pygmalion.

If your parents are on campus, it’s likely that you will have access to a car, which provides you with many more possibilities for entertainment. You can drive downtown to the Art Theater to see many independent films or other unique opportunities. The go-to theater in Champaign-Urbana, Savoy 16, was recently renovated to add an IMAX theater, which will provide you and your parents with opportunities to see blockbuster movies in high definition.

If you venture out of Champaign, there are many nature activities that you can take part in. Monticello, Ill., just 20 minutes west on Interstate 72 has Allerton Park, which is a great place for hiking. Allerton also has many beautiful gardens filled with sculptures and flowers. If you head the other way on Interstate 74, Kickapoo State Park offers great canoeing and hiking opportunities.

No matter what you choose to do, make sure you show your parents what your life on campus is like. Introduce them to your friends. Acquaint them with iconic buildings. Go to sporting events. Your parents will love to see your new life. Just be sure to invite them.

Johnathan is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jhett93.