Amy Sherman remembers when she first learned about the Aspire, a Weekend of Revitalization event from former classmate Eric Logan, executive director of Light of Chance, which presents it.
“I read up on the event,” the Madisonville woman said. “From the first day, I was hooked.”
Organizers hope others will be hooked when the Aspire returns this weekend for its second year in Bowling Green. The event will include a teen summit, concert and gospel explosion.
“It’s a weekend of revitalization. When you have a good weekend, you feel revitalized,” Logan said. “It’s a pick-me-up for what’s going on in your life. Each event is targeted to bring different age groups out.”
The community-wide celebration – designed to empower and unite people from different economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds – will kick off with a teen summit for grades six through 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Western Kentucky University’s Downing University Center. Participants can register online at www.lightofchance.org or onsite beginning at 9 a.m. Participants will receive free breakfast, lunch and a T-shirt.
“We want to try to encourage the teens to be themselves. It’s very interactive and high-energy,” Logan said. “We have workshops that pertain to what’s going on with them.”
Workshop topics will include college prep and life skills, sex and healthy relationships and the influence of pop and media culture.
“We want to show them how to prepare themselves for college and life,” Logan said. “They can be whatever they want to be, and we want to show them how to do that.”
Teens can participate in art component workshops such as acting, music and creative writing and dancing and stepping.
“Whatever they’re interested in, they can express it through art,” Logan said.
A panel discussion called “Hello Fear” will be about “real conversations, real life,” during which participants can hear answers to questions they may not have wanted to ask out loud.
“We’ll have question boxes in all the workshops. They can write their questions down. We’ll also give them a number where they can text questions,” Logan said. “They can do it anonymously. We will answer those questions during the panel discussion.”
The teen summit averages between 125 and 150 participants, Logan said.
“We have kids from all over Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio,” he said. “We’re pretty excited about it.”
The next Aspire activity will be a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at WKU’s Van Meter Hall. Hosted by Nashville-based comedian Brian “B Cov” Covington, the concert will include performances by a variety of acts, including Kendra Chantelle of “American Idol,” Noizejoi, Damien Home, Hurra Season, Darnell Levine, Asia Bryant, Shaun Melody, Ms. Quick and DJ Slikk. Tickets, which are $7 in advance and $10 at the door, may be purchased at Hip Hop Fashions, Giorgio’s Menswear in Greenwood Mall or at www.lightofchance.org.
“We’ll have different types of artists from different genres from pop, R&B, hip-hop, soul, jazz and rock,” Logan said. “In the down time before the concert, we’ll have a talent show. We’re trying to encourage the teens to do what they learned in the workshops.”
The weekend will culminate with a Gospel Explosion at 3 p.m. Sunday at State Street Baptist Church. The service will feature the Alpha Knights step team from Alpha Baptist Church in Franklin, Teen Skits of Deliverance from Eleventh Street Baptist Church, and the youth choir and Princes of Praise Mime Ministry of Stoney Point Baptist Church in Smiths Grove. The guest speaker will be the Rev. David Kelso of Louisville.
Logan said Light of Chance started the event five years ago in Madisonville as a way to give back to the community. The event went so well that the organization decided to try one in Bowling Green last year.
“It’s the longest standing event for Light of Chance,” he said.
Sherman volunteers at the events in Madisonville and Bowling Green, helping wherever she is need.
“I like to work with kids. It’s good to see them come together and express themselves and bond,” she said. “They have so many things in common. It’s good to see the kids do positive things in a healthy environment.”
Her 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son enjoy the event, too, she said.
“It’s something I don’t have to beg my children to go to,” she said, laughing.
She hopes people come out to enjoy all the activities.
“It’s going to be a great weekend,” she said.