November 2, 2015

Drexel’s annual Family Weekend begins on Friday, November 6 and runs through Sunday, November 8. The activity-packed weekend is an opportunity for families to interact with their students on campus, with events ranging from an a cappella concert to museum visits to the Fall Dragon Fest. Westphal will host a number of Family Weekend events, including curator-led tours of Immortal Beauty: Highlights from the Robert & Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection in the Pearlstein Gallery, as well as an interactive tour of our Hybrid Making Lab. We’re also offering discounted tickets to WATERSHIP DOWN, a co-production of Drexel’s Co-Op Theatre Company and the Philadelphia-based Simpatico Theatre Project with students and Simpatico company members sharing the Mandell Theater stage.

Drexel’s Robert & Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection is one of the finest and oldest research collections in the country, housing more than 14,000 notable garments, accessories and textiles. More than 75 of these are currently on display in Immortal Beauty, the first large-scale exhibition of the Collection. Highlighting more than 250 years of international high style, the retrospective includes garments by such luminaries as Chanel, Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Christian Dior, Mary Quant and Elsa Schiaparelli. Fox Historic Costume Collection curator Clare Sauro will provide guided tours of the exhibition, discussing shifts in high fashion and the Collection’s ties to Drexel, on Friday, November 6 at 3:00pm and 3:30pm.

On Saturday, November 7, we’ll give a special tour of our Hybrid Making Lab, including a demonstration of our 3D printers and scanners. A shared high-tech making space heavily used by students from all of our design programs, the Hybrid lab is located on the first floor of the URBN Center (3501 Market Street). The interactive tour will take place from 1:00pm to 2:00pm.

Our student-run theatre company collaborates each year with a regional company through the Mandell Professionals in Residence Project (MPiRP), which allows students to work and learn alongside established professionals. This year the partnership resulted in a production of the cult-favorite odyssey WATERSHIP DOWN, in which two rabbits lead a scrappy band of refugees on a quest for a new home, unfolding a magnificent celebration of adventure, perseverance and community.

As part of Family Weekend, discounted tickets will be available on Friday, November 6 (Preview) and Saturday, November 7 (Opening Night), both at 8:00pm. Students can purchase $5 tickets at the door with their Drexel IDs, and those participating in Drexel Family Weekend can purchase tickets here and enter the code “Drexel” for $10 off. Click here to read more about the production.

Click here to learn more about the full schedule for Drexel Family Weekend.