In the next few days, thousands of family members and friends will flock to College Hill for a Family Weekend filled with over 130 on-campus events. But that doesn’t mean everyone visiting will stay on Brown’s campus.
In fact, the three days of festivities are “a powerful driver for Providence’s tourism economy,” Kristen Adamo, President and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote in an email to The Herald.
Over 88% of Providence hotels were occupied during last year’s Family Weekend, compared to 73.7% for the entire month of October 2024, according to Alana O’Hare, senior director of communications and special projects for the PWCVB.
Many of these hotels sell out months before Family Weekend begins, Adamo added.
For Mikele St-Germain, Brown’s director of parent and family engagement, the weekend is about “bringing the Brown community together on campus.” But, the University is “excited to feature some activities that will bring families into the Providence community and beyond,” she wrote.
Beyond featuring on-campus programming, the Family Weekend schedule also includes three events off-campus: an apple-picking trip at Barden Family Orchard in North Scituate, a group walk to India Point Park and a “Community Data Collection Day” at Providence’s North Burial Ground.
As of Oct. 14, 2,207 families had registered for the event, according to St-Germain. The number of visitors is expected to be much larger, as the University also accepts on-site registration.
This influx of visitors can have a significant economic impact on the Providence community, Adamo explained.
“Visitors don’t just stay in our hotels — they fill tables at restaurants, buy souvenirs at local shops and check out our local attractions,” she wrote. “What’s especially exciting is that this weekend introduces thousands of visitors to Providence, many for the first time.”
Family Weekend is “one of the good business weeks and weekends of the year” for Caspian Breakfast and Lunch, said Turan Caspian, owner of the Wickenden Street restaurant. During normal weekends, Brown students are already the eatery’s biggest customer base, Turan said, and the restaurant “is supposed to be very busy” this weekend.
With the restaurant expecting so much extra business, Turan is preparing with “extra employees and extra food and extra prep,” he said.
It is also a time for Turan to connect with the families of his regular customers, he added.
This year, the PWCVB is launching a “Providence LOVES Brown” campaign, which highlights events that the group hopes will increase foot traffic and “foster lasting connections between the Brown community and Providence establishments,” O’Hare wrote.
In exchange for displaying “Providence LOVES Brown” signage in their stores, participating businesses will be featured on a dedicated website and the PWCVB’s social media channels, according to O’Hare.
“They come for their students, but they leave with a deeper appreciation for our walkable downtown, vibrant food scene and cultural richness,” Adamo wrote. “It’s not just a busy weekend — it’s a gateway to future visits.”
Maya Kelly is a senior staff writer from Providence who covers business and development. A concentrator in urban studies and data fluency, she is passionate about intersecting storytelling with data analysis. When Maya's not at The Herald, you can find her hanging from an aerial silk, bullet journaling or in the middle of a forest.
