Bison Block Party kicks-off Independence Day celebration with free Tokens Show, fireworks
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
The Independence Day holiday celebration started a little early at Lipscomb University with its annual Summer Celebration closing night festivities.
On Friday, June 30, more than 3,000 members of the community gathered on Lipscomb’s Allen Arena Mall to celebrate the upcoming Independence Day holiday with a Bison Block Party featuring fun for the entire family. The event officially concluded 2017 Summer Celebration, the university’s annual festival of faith, which began on Wednesday, June 28.
The Bison Block Party featured inflatable games for kids, a special presentation of the Tokens Show hosted by Lee Camp, professor of theology and ethics at Lipscomb University, that featured special guests Buddy Greene, Odessa Settles, Andrew Peterson, Andy Gullahorn and Scott Mulvahill among others. Tokens is a popular is a live radio show-style program that blends music, humor and issues of social justice. The evening ended with a fireworks display that illuminated the campus.
Metropolitan Nashville Councilman Russ Pulley (District 25), the Metro Nashville Police Department mounted patrol, Crime Stoppers and other community representatives were also on-hand for the Bison Block Party as Lipscomb’s neighbors had an opportunity to learn more about their local representatives and community organizations.
“A Unifying Core: The Message of Romans” was the theme of this year’s Summer Celebration, as more than 115 speakers from across the country led the study of significant texts from Romans and the discussion of critical issues that impact congregational life, the culture wars and future unity among believers in a post-Christian world in classes, keynote addresses and other activities.
Summer Celebration keynote speakers included Randy Harris, Abliene, Texas; Buddy Bell, Montgomery, Alabama; Jovan Barrington, Denver, 
Colorado; John Mark Hicks, Lipscomb University; Dave Clayton, Nashville; Jeff Walling, Malibu, California; David Young, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Robert Gardenhire, Nashville; and Patrick Mead, Franklin, Tennessee.
In addition to keynote sessions and classes, a faith and culture film series, late night praise and worship, kids programs, teen sessions and book signings were among the hundreds of activities featured during Summer Celebration 2017.
More than 2,000 people attended the annual event, which was launched more than 80 years ago.
For more information and resources from Summer Celebration 2017, visit summercelebration.lipscomb.edu.