Take a night out on the town this weekend, UD students.

Welcome Fest is taking over downtown Dayton on Saturday evening with free giveaways, a cornhole tournament, karaoke, live entertainment and food.

Welcome Fest is the kickoff event for Dayton Campus Connect, a new program launched by Downtown Dayton Partnership aimed to engage students in the area from the first day they arrive on campus. DDP, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the metropolitan area, is leading this new initiative.

"Welcome Fest is a great opportunity to see all that downtown has to offer and to meet students from other universities," Laura Lehman, UD senior and marketing intern for DDP, said. "Everyone enjoys free stuff and there will be plenty of it there."

The alcohol-free event, exclusively for college students, is free with your college ID. Greater Dayton RTA will offer free transportation for all students from 3 p.m. to midnight with college ID, so stay for the after party in the Oregon Arts District and enjoy other downtown nightlife.

"We want to give students an opportunity to get involved with Dayton while they are still in college," Laura Woeste, director of marketing and communications for DDP, said. "We hope students who come to this event will see what downtown Dayton is like and consider coming back throughout the school year." Dayton Campus Connect has more up their sleeves than Welcome Fest. Last week the program

launched the new Web site, www.daytoncampusconnect.com, which provides information about where to play, eat, live and work in Dayton. A list of area internships will be posted within the month.

"Research shows that more than 60 percent of college-educated 24- to 35-year-olds choose place first, so the new economic development strategy is not just about attracting businesses - it's about creating a community that attracts young professionals," Downtown Dayton Partnership President Sandra Gudorf said in a recent press release. "Dayton Campus Connect will familiarize students with the area’s many amenities, so they'll consider Dayton as a place to launch their careers."

The program plans to hold events about once a month throughout the school year exclusively for area college students, such as an ice skating party at RiverScape and a special event held during a spring Dayton Dragons game.

"In the long-term this is more of an economic strategy for Dayton," Woeste said. "When students are seniors in college, we want them to think about staying in Dayton by making connections and networking here."