CORVALLIS - Comedian Bill Cosby will be a featured attraction next weekend (Oct. 13-15), when Oregon State University hosts Dad's Weekend 2000.

Dad's Weekend is becoming a fall staple. Traditionally, Dad's Weekend was held in February. Last year, citing a number of issues, including weather and a heightened interest in football, OSU planners decided to move the event to the fall.

"Last year, people indicated that they really liked having Dad's Weekend during football season so they had the chance to enjoy a game," said Machelle Kennedy, coordinator for OSU's Memorial Union Program Council, which sponsors the event.

This year's Dad's Weekend football contest features the OSU Beavers hosting the Stanford Cardinal in Reser Stadium. Game time has been changed to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, to accommodate a national Fox Sports Net broadcast.

Cosby's comedy show is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, in OSU's Gill Coliseum. Tickets, which are $35 and $25, are available from the OSU Athletics Ticket Office at 541-737-4455 or 800-462-3287. Cosby was the first African-American actor to star in a dramatic series on television (I Spy, 1965-68). The veteran comedian also starred in several situation comedies, including The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984-92. He has won numerous Emmy awards and written several books, including "Fatherhood" in 1986.

In addition to football and comedy, there are more than 25 other activities offered during the weekend, including car and model airplane shows, tours and hot air balloon rides.

Weekend activities begin on Friday, Nov. 5, when students are encouraged to take their fathers to OSU's Dixon Recreation Center, where dads will have free access to swimming, basketball courts, weight machines and a variety of other fitness activities.

Featured events on Saturday include football, a barbecue and an auction. The schedule includes:

Friday, Oct. 13

  • All Day: Dads admitted free to Dixon Recreation Center; "Recent Sculpture," by Lee Imonen, art instructor at Lane Community College, in Fairbanks Gallery of Art; and self-guided tours of OSU's Valley Library.
  • 2 p.m.: College of Pharmacy reception, Pharmacy Building.
  • 3:30 p.m.: A 90-minute jazz show featuring Magnets, a jazz band that includes artists from New York and the Northwest playing a funk-jazz hybrid style of music. Memorial Union Lounge.
  • 4 p.m.: MUPC welcomes dads with information, schedules, tickets, through 6 p.m., MU Concourse.
  • 5 p.m.: Friday Kick-off with OSU basketball Coach Ritchie McKay, featuring live music, no-host beer tasting and pizza. MU Ballroom, $5.
  • 7 p.m.: Screening of the 1999 film, "Any Given Sunday," an R-rated movie. Starring Al Pacino, the film gives a view of professional football. Encore screening at 10 p.m. Milam Auditorium, $4.
  • 7:30 p.m.: Bill Cosby Comedy Show, Gill Coliseum, tickets $35 and $25, available in advance. For information: 541-737-4455 or 800-462-3287.

Saturday, Oct. 14

  • All day: Dads get in free at Dixon Recreation Center; self-guided tours of Valley Library.
  • 9 a.m.: Bowling, through 2 p.m., MU Recreation Center. Four games, prizes, dad and student, $6.
  • 9 a.m.: Climbing wall, MU Quad, through 5 p.m.
  • 10 a.m.: Two-hour radio-controlled airplane show, intramural fields.
  • 10 a.m.: Four-hour exhibition by Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, MU Quad.
  • 10 a.m.: Four hours of interactive games, MU Quad.
  • 10 a.m.: Hot air balloon rides, through noon, Library Quad.
  • 10 a.m.: Root beer floats in MU Concourse, $3 for one or $5 for two; Dad and I photos in MU Room 109, and upper-back massages through 2 p.m., $7, sign-up in MU Room 103. Each event runs through 2 p.m.
  • 10 a.m.: Classic Car Show, through 4 p.m., McAlexander Field House.
  • 11 a.m.: "Recent Sculpture," by Lee Imonen, Fairbanks Gallery of Art, through 2 p.m.
  • 11 a.m.: Two hours of barbecue food, MU Quad, $7.50
  • 11 a.m.: MUPC Auction, MU Quad.
  • 3 p.m.: Screening of "Any Given Sunday," Milam Auditorium, $4 encore screenings at 7 and 10 p.m.
  • 3:30 p.m.: OSU football vs. Stanford, Reser Stadium.
  • 9 p.m.: Rock and Glow Bowl, dads and students, MU Recreation Center.

Sunday, Nov. 7

  • 3 p.m.: Concert featuring the Emerald City Jazz Kings, part of the Oregon Festival of American Music, LaSells Stewart Center, $14.50.
Source: 

Machelle Kennedy, 541-737-6872

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