Lil Friends Weekend

Lil Friends Weekend, started in the early 1980s, is one of Meredith’s newer traditions. This event gives Meredith students the opportunity to bring a ‘lil friend’ to stay with them for a weekend on Meredith’s campus. Many students bring a child that they babysit for or even a younger sibling or cousin ranging from ages 4-12. The weekend gives the children an opportunity to interact with one another, enjoy time with their favorite Meredith student, and spend the night away from home – a treat for both the children and parents!

This year’s Lil Friends Weekend took place March 18-19. Over 164 lil friends joined the Meredith community for a fun filled weekend. As with every other Meredith tradition, there of course was a theme…and a t-shirt. This year’s theme was “Into the Wild”, based on a safari. The bright green safari t-shirts were spotted all over campus! On Friday night, the Meredith students and their lil friends enjoyed snacks and a dance party in the Cate Center. Saturday was filled with fun activities such as swimming, a scavenger hunt, an inflatable bouncy house, an Aqua Angel performance, and other outdoor activities. It was a great weekend, and we enjoyed having all the children on campus.

Eleven years ago, at the age of nine, I decided that I wanted to attend Meredith College. I had just attended Lil Friends Weekend with my older cousin, Kara Graves Miller, ‘03. I had such a fun weekend, and I remember thinking that it was so cool that I was able to spend the weekend at college with my cousin. This year I was able to bring my four year old cousin, Elisa Miller, who happens to be Kara’s daughter, to Lil Friends Weekend with me. It was such a great experience to spend that time with Elisa just like Kara and I did eleven years ago.

To make the whole weekend even better, two of my close friends brought lil friends of their own; we all had a great time together and the girls loved becoming new friends. We even got a picture of the “future” Meredith angels with our onyxes on their hands. I am already looking forward to next year when I’ll be able to bring both Elisa and her sister Charlotte. And maybe, just maybe, one day the tradition will continue, and my child will be able to attend Lil Friends Weekend with one of them (that is – if they decide to come to Meredith… no pressure)!

– Betsy Graves, ’12

Kara Graves Miller, ’03 and Betsy Graves, ’12