As Mom’s Weekend approaches, residence halls around campus gear up for the festivities.

From brunches to dances, many residence halls have traditional activities that aim to make the weekend fun and memorable for students and their moms.

“We hope that residents and moms will walk away from the weekend feeling like part of the Cougar family,” said Edwin Hamada, director of WSU Residence Life. “Text messages and phone calls can keep moms up to date on their children’s lives, but nothing compares to a shared experience.”

Most of the events that happen in residence halls are planned by the hall’s student government and resident advisers. Hall governments and RAs can use the event planning as a sort of PR training, said Ray Acuna-Luna, residential education director (RED) for Community-Duncan Dunn hall.

“I think everybody gets something out of it,” Acuna-Luna said.

Community-Duncan Dunn puts on a “Muffins with Moms” event on Saturday when students and their moms can mingle among other residents, Acuna-Luna said.

On Sunday, Community-Duncan Dunn will hold a barbecue for lunch in order to feed the moms before they leave campus, he said.

Regents Hall has held a “Mom and Me Tea” event every year since 2003, as well as a dance that used to be campus-wide but is now planned by Regents and Stimson halls, which are partnered, said Britteny Alspach, Regents RED.

“Building community is something we always try to achieve,” Alspach said.  

The Regents-Stimson dance has been reduced in size over the years, but it is still going strong without any plans to stop the tradition, she said. The events remain open to the public and she said people outside the two residence halls are encouraged to come.

Even the new kid on the block, Northside Hall, is starting up a new tradition.

Northside RED Aubrie Piper said Northside will provide brunch, free coffee mugs, and a professional photo booth provided by Washington-based company Oh SnapShots!

“We anticipate this will be a great turnout,” Piper said.

The brunch is planned to become an annual event for the hall on Mom’s Weekend, she said.

Honors Hall will host its annual Elevenses brunch for Honors students, Honors Hall residents, and their parents.