An inflatable obstacle course, bounce house, basketball game, face-painting and craft table greeted students and their siblings as they walked through the doors of the Lilly Center's Auxiliary Gym Saturday for the opening event of Little Sibs Weekend.
The first annual field day for Little Sibs Weekend was a big hit with both the Union Board and students.
The event was a childhood throwback for the students, friends and siblings who attended, with its laid-back environment and many activities.
While attendance declined after the day's initial large turnout, the Union Board was still pleased with attendance levels.
"It has been awesome," said sophomore Jordan Davis, Union Board entertainment chair. "There are so many things going on to choose from, so students and their siblings can have a lot of fun. We will definitely be doing this next year."
Participating fraternities and sororities echoed Union Board's and attendee's positive remarks on the event, as various fraternities and sororities contributed to field day.
Freshman Johnny Bartlett, a new member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, assisted with the basketball game. He said despite the lack of turnout, he was entertained.
"There were not a ton of kids there, but we played some knock out and a game of three on three. It was a good time," Bartlett said.
Sophomore Caroline Hall, a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, helped out with Pi Phi's craft table to make book cards to use as bookmarks for the sorority's philanthropy, First Book.
"We're making book cards for our philanthropy," Hall said. "It's been going really well. We have had a lot of cards made."
Many students, siblings and visiting friends enjoyed the activities that were offered.
"I had a lot of fun playing basketball," said K.J. Anderson, a visiting younger sibling.
Other siblings' interest in DePauw peaked after attending Little Sibs Weekend and getting a feel for what the university has to offer.
"I love DePauw and have had a great time this weekend," said Aubrey Spears, a visiting younger sister. "It was great to see my sister and experience the culture here on DePauw's campus. I am excited to keep coming back in the future."
Some students visited the event in order to partake in the activities provided even if they did not have younger siblings visiting.
Junior Lauren Gilliam, who did not have a sibling visiting, said Field Day exceeded her expectations.
"It's nice to kick back and relax for a change of pace," Gilliam said. "I love being able to play games that I haven't played since I was a little kid."
Gilliman had a friend, Jesse Crutcher, visiting from University of Louisville. Crutcher thought Field Day was a great way to spend his time at DePauw.
"It is something random, and we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but there have been a lot of different activities to participate in that have been really fun," Crutcher said.
Students thought that the Little Sibs Weekend Field Day was a great way to bring the DePauw community together.
"I've really been enjoying myself," junior Chelsey Hall said. "I've been able to meet new people who I would not have met otherwise. I have also learned how to play double-dutch."
While the majority of students and siblings were satisfied with the events, some thought that the calendar of events should have been better communicated.
"Little Sibs Weekend needs to be promoted more so they can have a bigger turnout," freshman Kandyce Anderson said. "I think they should have more events geared towards different ages, so that all siblings are can have fun in something they are interested in."
Freshman Courtney Cosby, head of Field Day events, was disappointed at the turn out, but she believes the idea of the event was great.
"We didn't have as many families as I thought we would," she said. "Everyone who helped out has had a lot of fun and all the kids that did come had a lot of fun."
For next year's Field Day, Cosby plans to begin promoting the event during first semester to get a large turnout and have an even more successful event in years to come.