Home > About Us > Community Relations > News > 2012 > Fall > Walking Tour Kicks Off Fall University-Downtown Events

Walking Tour Kicks Off Fall University-Downtown Events

SCC-RATourw.jpg

During their August orientation, more than 85 Resident Assistants took part in a downtown walking tour to see the sites and experience the best places for food and entertainment in the Electric City.

The University’s Offices of Community Relations and Residence Life teamed up with Scranton Tomorrow to adapt their “FAM” – downtown familiarization – tour for this group of student leaders.  Now in its second year, the special tour included two versions – one a general overview of downtown businesses and the other, for returning RA’s, focused on cultural venues, such as the Scranton Cultural Center, and new businesses, including POSH @ the Scranton Club.  After the tour, RA’s dined at a variety of 10 different American, Asian and Mediterranean downtown restaurants.  Click here to view television coverage of the tour on WNEP's Ryan Leckey Live show or here to view an article in the Scranton Times-Tribune.

The tour for RA’s is just the start of a series of events this fall, part of the University’s ongoing Downtown Engagement Initiative.  On August 31, the University will host the second annual Downtown Scavenger Hunt to help all students get to know the venues and business of Scranton. Students will travel in teams of two to the more than 30 participating shops, restaurants and cultural venues. Teams will use social media tools such as Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook to solve clues at the various downtown locations. Last year, more than 250 students participated in this unique event designed to provide a fun and interactive orientation to the downtown area.

The scavenger hunt event is part of Fall Welcome Week and has been planned by the Office of Community Relations in partnership with the University’s Center for Student Engagement, Small Business Development Center, and the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce & Metro Action.  The scavenger hunt will end with an award reception at the Mall at Steamtown, where the top teams will receive major prizes, including a $200 gift certificate from the Mall and two tickets to “West Side Story” performed by the Broadway Theatre League. 

Other upcoming events that will help connect students with the city include the Sept. 15 Lackawanna County Concert Series College Battle of the Bands, in which the University’s band “Silhouette Lies” will compete, and the University’s Electric City Downtown Nite on Oct. 5, which will include dinner, First Friday, a movie at Marquee Cinemas or music at the Scranton Cultural Center’s “Listen Local” show for 300 students.  Like last year, the University’s Family Weekend, which is set for Sept. 28 - 30, will include a focus on downtown with restaurants offering discounts and specials.  

Sponsors of the downtown Scavenger Hunt include: Tobyhanna Federal Credit Union, PNC Bank, The Mall at Steamtown, Penn Security Bank & Trust, Pennstar Bank, Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, TMG Health, Broadway Theatre League and Wayne Bank.

For more information about the University’s Downtown Engagement Initiative, visit the Community Relations website.

Scroll to Top