A record 3,300 people from approximately 1,500 families registered to attend a partly rainy Parents’ Weekend, which ended Saturday.

Provost John Etchemendy kicked off the annual Parents’ Weekend Friday morning with a welcome to parents and family members, followed by an afternoon question and answer session, in which he addressed questions about the recent raise in tuition for the 2010-2011 school year.

The most noticeable change to this year’s event was in its promotion: in an effort to be more sustainable, the Web site was redesigned, e-mail invitations were sent and parents could only register online. More than 1,000 parents registered online within 48 hours after receiving notice of the early registration system, according to the University.

Also new this year was a resource fair, designed to give parents the opportunity to speak with staff members from the various student resources available on campus.  Representatives of institutions from Vaden to the Stanford Quad Yearbook were available on Saturday morning to answer parents’ questions.

Steve Case, the co-founder of AOL, wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “Enjoying last day of Stanford Parents’ Weekend–while listening to Hawaii tsunami updates.” Case’s daughter, Annie, is a freshman here.

The event ended Saturday with the “Entertainment Extravaganza,” which featured performances from student a capella groups, Stanford Wushu and others. Proceeds from the tickets sold to the entertainment event will benefit the Parents’ Club Scholarship Endowment Fund, which provides scholarships for Stanford students.

–Kate Abbott