A Festival of Ideas event, Pittsburgh Symphony concert, faculty lectures, pizza party and basketball game featuring the nationally ranked Mountaineers are some of the highlights of the Mountaineer Parents Clubs annual Winter Weekend (Feb. 16-18) at West Virginia University.

In addition, a special panel of WVU students/siblings will talk about their experiences and how they each found separate identities and academic paths.

Winter Weekend is a wonderful time of the year when we welcome hundreds of our Mountaineer families to campus,said Susan Hardesty, who volunteers full-time as the national chair of the parent organization.

We believe that young people have the best chance to succeedin college and after graduationwhen their families stay involved in their lives,added Sabrina Cave, director of the Parents Club, which has some 15,400 members throughout the country as well as international chairs in South America, Canada and Germany.

While on campus, parents will visit with their students and have the opportunity to sample various aspects of WVU life,Cave said.They can attend lectures by a few of our excellent faculty members, a pizza party and Mountaineer pep rally with appearances by the mens basketball team and head coach John Beilein, and hear this years first Festival of Ideas speaker Mark Russell.

Courtney Jennings, interim New Student Orientation coordinator, said Winter Weekend will have special activities for siblings of WVU students as well.

This is the second year we have offered a Siblings Weekend in conjunction with the Parents Club Winter Weekend,she said.Siblings will have the opportunity to see where their brother or sister attends school and experience a small part of WVU . They can tour campus, take part in WVUp All Night (the Universitys nationally acclaimed weekend alternative program thats been featured on ABC sGood Morning America,the BBC andSafe Lanes on Campus: A Guide for Preventing Impaired Driving and Underage Drinking) and work out at the Student Recreation Center.

Students will also be able to take in faculty lectures, experience Mountaineer athletics and participate in an information fair with representatives from Financial Aid, Admissions and Records and various majors.

Families are invited to kick off the weekend with free Rec Center activities from 6 a.m.-midnight and WVU Bookstore shopping from 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16. Cave encourages parents to show their Mountaineer Parents Club membership card for a 10 percent discount on their bookstore purchases throughout the weekend.

On tap Friday evening is political humorist and syndicated columnist Mark Russell, best known for his PBS specials. He will bring his satire to the Mountainlair ballrooms for the first event in the Universitys 2007 Festival of Ideas series produced by WVU Arts&Entertainment.

Russells presentations usually involve playing the piano and singing between periods of talking. He takes popular songs and rewrites satirical versions. He was featured in theSimpsonsepisodeMr. Lisa Goes to Washington,where the character sang three songs in the style of Russells political satire songs.

The Festival event is free, open to the public and begins at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 304-293-SHOW.

Parents and siblings can also take part in WVUp All Night from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. in the Mountainlair student union. Activities range from free food, comedy shows and concerts to low-cost movies, half-price bowling, pool and more.

On Saturday, Feb. 17, the Rec Center will again offer free activities from 6 a.m.-midnight for visiting families, and the WVU Bookstore will open its doors from 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m.

In addition, families can experience the academic side of WVU life as the Parents Club offers faculty lectures at the Creative Arts Center beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Sharon Ryan, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy recently interviewed for the Jan. 22 issue of Sports Illustrated, will share her unique perspective on philosophy with families.

Other talks includeHow to Help Your Kid Get a Jobgiven by Susan Jennings Lantz, WVU s new associate director of Career Services, andWVU 101: What It Means to Be and How to Become a Mountaineer.

The sibling panel will be at 12:30 p.m. in Room 223-A of the Creative Arts Center as part ofWVU 101: What It Means to Be and How to Become a Mountaineer.During the 101 presentation, families will also learn more about WVU and what it has to offer. Representatives will discuss WVU s admission process and requirements, scholarship opportunities, Adventure West Virginiaa unique outdoor orientation for first-year students at WVU and the Universitys First-Year Experience.

Also on Saturday, those attending the basketball game at the Coliseum may want to take in a special 1:45 p.m. presentation. WVU and NBA basketball great Jerry West and his wife, Karen, will be on hand for the unveiling of a bronze statue in Wests honor at the Blue Gate. The statue will be a permanent fixture at WVU . Some of West’s former WVU teammates will attend the ceremony, which is expected to last around 15 minutes.

From 2-3:30 p.m., a pizza party and pep rally in the Shell Building next to the WVU Coliseum will be highlighted by appearances by WVU President David Hardesty and his wife, Susan; Coach Beilein; womens basketball coach Mike Carey; the mens and womens basketball teams; WVU pep band; cheerleaders; and Mountaineer mascot. The WVU Team Shop operated by Zides will also have a table set up for families to purchase official WVU merchandise.

After the pizza party, families who have purchased basketball tickets can catch a double-header, featuring the soldout WVU -Seton Hall mens basketball matchup at 4 p.m. and a WVU -South Florida womens basketball game at 6:30 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.

Other entertainment options include WVUp All Night activities from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. in theLair and an 8 p.m. Pittsburgh Symphony performance at the WVU Creative Arts Center.

The concert will showcase music by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra composer of the year, Christopher Theofanidis, as well as Yefim Bronfman performing Beethovens

Concerto No. 1. Peter Oundjian of the Toronto Symphony will conduct.Tickets are still available at the door that evening.

Finally, for a truly unique musical experience, the weekend wraps up with a concert by WVU s African Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at the Creative Arts Center. For ticket information, call 304-293-SHOW.

More on the Net: http://www.wvu.edu/ “> http://www.wvu.edu/ (click on theWinter WeekendorSiblings Weekendicons)