Ohio University Southern has nearly 5 million reasons - plus 200 more - to celebrate this weekend.

Everyone in the Tri-State is invited to a free party as the southern campus hosts a two-fold celebration Saturday to commemorate the end of the Bicentennial Campaign that has raised nearly $5 million at the southern campus and to also wish the Athens campus a happy 200th birthday.

Dr. Dan Evans, dean of OUS, said he was proud to be a part of two milestones for the entire university and community.

"We are celebrating the 200th anniversary of the establishment and foundation of Ohio University. I think it is befitting that we celebrate 200 years of service to the region with the bicentennial campaign," Evans said.

"We have had a very successful campaign and are very close to achieving our goal. We are very excited about the type of support the community has provided us and we look forward to providing our service to this region and all of Ohio for the next 200 years."

The celebration kicks off at 4 p.m. at the Nature Center in Lake Vesuvius.

Attractions will include guided tours, refreshments and an appearance by the Science Wizard, aka Dr. Bob Culp.

Continuing the focus on family fun, the celebration moves to the OUS courtyard at 6 p.m. Following brief comments by university and bicentennial campaign leaders, a picnic will precede a full presentation by the Science Wizard for the children.

Five hundred balloons will be launched. The Joe Freeman Bluegrass Band will wrap up the day with a little musical entertainment.

OU's Bicentennial Campaign officially ends June 30th.

As a whole, Ohio University's goal was to raise $200 million. The institution exceeded that plateau by nearly $2 million.

The Southern Campus' goal was $5 million.

As of June 1, the university has generated approximately $4.7 million, with verbal commitments that would take the fund to about $4.9 million.

In part because it was the first time that the southern campus had participated in anything like this, Bob Smith, assistant dean of development, said never in his wildest dreams did he envision such success and he remains optimistic that they will meet the goal.

"This is just a culmination of a huge effort on behalf of the entire community. We are simply saying 'thank you' to anyone who has helped us meet our goal," Smith. "This is an opportunity for us to thank everyone for their outstanding support of the campus."

All the money raised locally has been invested back into the southern campus and the community.