If you saw a bunch of “young” gentleman walking around campus last weekend with students, it was due to the University of Denver bi-annual Dads and Granddads weekend. The weekend, which alternates every year with Moms and Grandmoms Weekend, gives parents and grandparents the chance to check out where their kid or grandkid lives and goes to class, meet their friends and see what clubs and organizations they are in.

“Dads and Granddads Weekend is a great opportunity for our parents to see what we are doing in school, where we are involved, and what classes we are taking. I showed my dad the new hotel school,” said sophomore Matt Landes whose dad flew out from Los Angeles for the weekend.

The event was put on by the alumni office and featured numerous activities for the dads and granddads to participate in.

The first event was on Friday afternoon when folk singer John Hiatt performed many of his hits in Lindsey Auditorium of Sturm Hall. Hiatt began his music career in 1974, and has covered all styles of music from rock & roll to country to blues to folk. Hiatt has released 14 albums, and has hit songs such as “Have a Little Faith,” “A Thing Called Love,” and “Slow Turning.”

Other events on Friday evening featured a pre-game meal at the brand new Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management building before the hockey game. All dads and granddads had the option to attend the DU hockey game against WCHA foe Minnesota State on Friday night as well. The hockey players put on a good show for the parents as they defeated the Mavericks 7-4 before a sold out house.

“We went out and enjoyed the downtown LoDo area, went to the hockey games and saw our Pioneers sweep Minnesota State,” said Landes about his weekend activities.

Saturday featured various activities from a tour of Invesco Field, the ski train to Winter Park and a tour of the lower downtown of Denver.

The Invesco Field tour started off with a bus trip from DU to Brooklyn’s Sports Bar across from the Pepsi Center for a buffet lunch while watching afternoon college basketball games. After Brooklyn’s Sports Bar, the students and their guests got back onto the bus on their way to the featured destination of Invesco Field, home to the very popular Denver Broncos of the NFL and Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.

More than 100 students and guests were divided into four groups and given a tour of the stadium. They were treated to visits to the main suite level, where suites run from $75,000 to $125,000 per season and have a five season minimum.

The stadium has four locker rooms, one for the officials, two for visiting teams and one for the Denver Broncos, which no one else is allowed to enter or use. Guests also saw one of the eight keg rooms that help produce the over 100,000 cups of beer that are drank on game day.

The stadium itself cost over $400 million dollars, of which $100 million was funded by the Denver Broncos and the remaining was funded by tax dollars of local Colorado counties.

One of the other activities gave students and their guests the chance to take the Winter Park Train from Union Station to the Winter Park Mountain for the day. The train left at 7 am and returned around 6 pm in the afternoon. Guests could walk around the town, ski or snowboard the mountain and take lessons. The other event was lunch and a tour of historic landmarks in downtown Denver, including the 16th Street Mall and the capital.

“Parents weekend means a lot to me, it speaks volumes about what this school is really about. For me personally, it was a chance for my dad to come in and spend some time with me, meet my girlfriend, go to the hockey game and go up to the mountains,” said sophomore senator Aaron Schwarzberg.

Not only was the weekend a great opportunity for parents and grandparents, it gave students off- campus dining and entertainment at clubs and bars.

“It is important to get the parents involved, because it is important to have a good parent-child relationship. It was kind of like having an open house in first grade and being able to show my dad all my classrooms, dorm room and friends,” said sophomore Leah Konrady.