On Saturday evening, Sept. 26, 2026, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., Union University hosted thousands of guests for Union Family Night.
The organization of the event was headed by Residence Life but involved other departments, including facilities, creative dining, admissions and others. When asked about the goal of Family Weekend, Residence Life Secretary Lanna Carbonell said, “I feel like it is a great time for families to come and see what their students have been up to for the last six weeks, as well as just having a night to remember.”
Digital media communications sophomore Michael Faulkner said, “This is probably the only time I’m going to be able to see my family this semester.” He expressed that this event is an opportunity which he appreciates, as his family lives too far away to make visiting easy.
This was a sentiment shared by a parent. Karen Benson said, “We came mostly just to see our kid, because she can’t come home all semester.” This event provides a unique opportunity for students to catch up with their families and for those families to be able to see their children in their new environment.
Union worked with local food trucks and other food vendors for the event. Student organizations and campus entities had tents around the Great Lawn. The Hub, Union’s center for innovation, had a booth displaying its capabilities and a robot dog. Two tents served dirty sodas. Another booth featured a miniature petting zoo with baby goats, among other animals. One booth was for pie throwing, where attendees could throw pies at a row of different students.
There was a Ferris wheel as well as a carousel, both of which saw continuous use throughout the night. There were several bounce houses for the children in attendance.
Family Night is the capstone event of Family Weekend and is the result of over 12 months of planning. “The planning for this event literally starts as soon as this event ends,” said Carbonell. “Technically, I would say probably around January is when we start contacting the vendors and food trucks.”
The night culminated in a spectacular fireworks show, which was displayed over the field by White Hall to unanimous applause.
The event brought together students, their families, alumni, members of the community and campus officials. Carbonell said, “I really feel like it’s a community, not just students who are on campus. Because this is one of the best nights and best events we have on campus, period.”
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