Lil Sibs Weekend: Celebrating Cedarville’s family legacy

By Aubrie Rickett

When incoming freshmen arrive on campus during Getting Started Weekend, one of the first things they hear is, “Welcome Home.” Throughout the following months, Cedarville provides students with numerous opportunities to foster community and relationships that soon become family. 

Lil Sibs Weekend, one of Cedarville’s longest running events, invites immediate family members to experience the home and campus family of their Cedarville student. This past weekend, Feb. 6-8, 2026, students welcomed their Lil Sibs to experience the rhythms of college life and the “home” of their Big Sib. 

Friday night’s events included laser tag, putt putt, a selfie station and The Pitch, Cedarville’s version of Shark Tank. On Saturday, Lil Sibs and their families enjoyed coffee and donuts at Rinnova, basketball games and showings of Cedarville’s winter musical, Horizons of Gold. 

For many Lil Sibs, the weekend gives them their first opportunity to stay on a college campus. Elisia Ackerman, a junior Music and Worship double major, welcomed her younger siblings, Ethan and Sofia, for their first overnight stay. 

Sofia most enjoyed the game night she had with her siblings and some of Elisia’s friends. They played an improvised game of the cardgame Spoons using shoes instead of spoons. However, the game came with another twist: the shoes were spread throughout the room, forcing players to race each other to win. 

“We played spoons with shoes, and I got my [four cards] first, and I started running, but I didn’t get [a shoe],” Sofia said. “And I thought that was kinda annoying cause I feel like the person to get [four cards] has to get [a shoe].” 

Despite losing the game, Sofia enjoyed her first college experience. “I feel like living here would be fun,” she said.  

For some students, including my sister Kelsie and myself, Lil Sibs Weekend celebrates a long family legacy of making Cedarville home. When Lil Sibs Weekend began in 1999, my parents, Dan and LaChelle (Peters) Rickett were sophomores at Cedarville. Dan studied Youth Ministry, and LaChelle earned her degree in Elementary Education. While neither hosted their own siblings at the event, they now get to experience Lil Sibs through their kids.

“As alumni, bringing our kids to Lil Sibs Weekend is not only a great opportunity to spend time together as a family,” Dan said. “It is also a wonderful way to give them a taste of what Cedarville is as a community and how Cedarville can be a home away from home like it was for us many years ago.”

The family reunions at Lil Sibs extend beyond immediate family as well. During the weekend, LaChelle ran into several friends from her time at Cedarville.

“It’s special to catch up with them and meet their kids who now also attend Cedarville,” LaChelle said. “It reminds me of the unique community that the Cedarville family provides not only during the college years, but also for years to come.” 

This year, my younger sister, Melody, and brother, Trevor, were both old enough to participate in the Lil Sibs activities. 

Trevor especially enjoyed chapel and the experience of worshiping together with so many other young Christians. Melody said her favorite part was attending classes with her sisters. As their older sisters, Kelsie and I both enjoyed sharing our Cedarville lives with them. 

“It was fun having Melody in the dorm with me and watching her experience a glimpse of life in Johnson,” Kelsie said. “My favorite part of the weekend was taking my siblings to play on the courts in the gym.” 

Lil Sibs Weekend welcomes families home for a weekend of fun, reminiscing, and family bonding that both strengthens old roots and creates new ones. For Melody, the weekend sparked her own interest in pursuing a degree at Cedarville.

Melody said, “I can’t really see myself going anywhere else.” 

Aubrie Rickett is a Music and English double major and enjoys running and drawing.