UD campus to become holiday playland

University of Dayton students will transform the campus into a holiday playland for local children during the 54th annual Christmas on Campus on Friday. All activities are free and open to the public.

More than 1,000 Dayton Public Schools students are expected to attend. Each child will be paired with a UD undergraduate for crafts, a carnival, performances and more.

“The theme this year is ‘Oh Come All Ye Flyers’,” said senior Maddy Paramo, a member of the planning committee. “It fits with the University’s Marianist identity and reflects how this event brings everyone together.”

Started in 1964 as a way for students to celebrate the holiday before heading home for winter break, Christmas on Campus has evolved into what is believed to be one of the nation’s largest single-day, on-campus community service events. Nearly three-quarters of the undergraduate student body is involved in some way.

The schoolchildren will arrive in C Lot, off Evanston Avenue near the RecPlex, between 5 and 5:30 p.m.

The opening ceremony, live Nativity, tree lighting and Santa’s arrival are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Humanities Plaza. Other activities, including a train display, cardboard maze and obstacle course, will take place in the Science Center, Jesse Phillips Humanities Center, RecPlex, Bookstore and Kennedy Union.

Schoolchildren will return to their buses by 8 p.m. The Mass of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception will begin at 9:30 p.m. at Holy Angels Church.