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This weekend's College Royal open house has fun for the whole family

The free family event runs this Saturday and Sunday across the University of Guelph campus
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Square dancers perform the Athletics Centre at University of Guelph during College Royal 2018. Kenneth Armstrong/GuelphToday

March break comes to a close this weekend, but not before the University of Guelph’s annual College Royal open house takes over much of the campus with free activities for the whole family.

About 20,000 visitors attend College Royal every year to experience all of what U of G has to offer in North America’s oldest free student-run open house.

The schedule for this year’s event features events for everyone and, best of all, most events are free.

One of the longest running events at College Royal is the Livestock show, where livestock of all kinds compete. On Saturday, beef and horses will be on display and on Sunday the show will consist of dairy cattle and sheep.

The Dairy Barn will be transformed into Old MacDonald’s Farm this weekend, allowing visitors to see a farm without leaving the city. Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A dog show runs Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the main gym of the Athletics Centre. Not to be outdone, Rozanski Hall will feature a College Royal’s 40th annual cat show in Room 101 Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.

Johnston Green will be host to many events over the weekend, including a logging competition Sunday at 10 a.m. and a tug-of-war competition at 1 p.m.

Inflatables at University Centre and Peter Clark Hall will include obstacle courses, bounce houses and slides all day Saturday and Sunday. 

Square dancing, a junior tractor rodeo and a charity chili cookoff in support of the Guelph Food Bank are among the dozens of other events being held this weekend for the open house. See the College Royal web site for more information and a downloadable brochure.

College Royal is also offering a free smart phone app to keep track of dozens of events happening across 34 locations on campus this weekend, available on Apple’s App Store or Google play.


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