This annual LION (Living In One Neighborhood) Bash will take place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday on the 100 and 200 blocks of Allen Street downtown. The goal of the event is to connect Penn State students and long-term residents with each other and community resources.
“It’s becoming more and more apparent how important the relationships are between the campus and the community,” University Park Undergraduate Association representative Zach Robinson, who’s been working with the Borough all summer to plan the event, said. “Engaging with community members is really important…so this is a great time, when everyone’s coming back, to have a kind of ‘Welcome Home’ ceremony for the students and the university.”
LION Bash will feature almost 100 “engagement stations” run by community members, local organizations, businesses, and campus organizations. Stations will give students and long-term residents a chance to learn more about the opportunities in the community around them.
Attendees will also be able to win prizes, from an iPad to gift certificates for local businesses, and food will be available from Rita’s, El Gringo Taco Truck, and Ye Olde College Diner.
Two stages on Allen Street will showcase local groups like The Adorabulls, Miss Melanie and the Valley Rats, and Velveeta, as well as a few other Penn State student groups.
“We hope a lot of students come out to what looks like it’ll be the biggest LION Bash ever,” Robinson said. “It’s a good time to meet community members and have that cross-over, so we’re really excited about the possibilities for this year.”
LION Bash is a partnership among Penn State, Downtown State College Improvement District, Neighborhood Associations and the Borough of State College. The borough and university have partnered on LION events for more than 10 years. Previously they hosted the LION Walk, in which residents and community leaders went door to door, delivering resource packets.
As LION Bash has succeeded the walk, it’s also growing larger, expanding from only the 200 block of South Allen Street to now include the 100 block as well.
