Games, food, demonstrations and a parade are expected to draw thousands of visitors Saturday to Kansas University for its second annual Open House.

Organizers say they hope the event will help recruit future Jayhawks and show the community what’s happening at KU.

“More than anything, we want to show the state of Kansas what the University of Kansas has to offer and why higher ed is so important to the state,” said Heidi Simon, assistant director of admissions and scholarships.

Margey Frederick, director of visitor services, said last year’s Open House  which officials said drew 20,000 people to campus  was a big success. The greatest change this year will be concentrating events along Jayhawk Boulevard.

“We found last year, on a 1,000-acre campus, we were fairly spread out,” she said. “Some people who were riding the shuttle had to switch buses to get to where they were going.”

KU also added a stage at Wescoe Beach, where a variety of programs  such as a history presentation and an ROTC drill  will occur.

Other highlights include:

 Tours of the Dole Institute of Politics construction site on West Campus starting every 45 minutes beginning at 10:30 a.m.

 CyberJay virtual reality demonstration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Murphy Hall.

 Blood pressure checks in the Mobile Medical Unit on Jayhawk Boulevard from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 Carnival for children outside Kansas Union from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The day also includes a 2 p.m. parade down Jayhawk Boulevard to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and a “Taste and Sounds of Lawrence” event from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Adams Alumni Center, which will feature music and food samples from about 12 Lawrence restaurants and vendors.

The full list of events is at www.openhouse.ku.edu.

“We do this to allow people to come and visit campus on a casual basis and have them enjoy our wide variety of offerings,” Frederick said. “We want them to feel comfortable on campus. We have a lot of local residents who see campus as something they have to drive around Monday through Friday.”