Bois d'Arc Bash attracts students with College Night

College Night kicked off the festivities of Commerce's 25th Annual Bois d' Arc Bash on Thursday night. 

For years, the Chamber of Commerce has attempted to find ways for A&M-Commerce to be more involved in the community.

"The chamber saw this weekend as a wonderful opportunity to involve the school and community together by integrating a College Night into The Bois d' Arc Bash," senior marketing major Rachel Evans said. 

College Night was designed to be a fun, entertaining way to engage students from the university and encourage them to become part of the community.

"Over the past years, involvement between the school and the community has increased and this is just another perfect way to get everyone together," Evans said.

The night began with a talent show featuring six contestants.  Students, faculty, staff and community members filled the downtown square for music, entertainment and dancing. Other entertainment throughout the night included performances by Andrew Forest aka "Thrilla" and Kenneth Porter aka "Lil Shine."

"This event was put together rather quickly," Evans said. "I look forward to next year's participation being much higher. The fact that students are aware of this type of addition is very important."

Commerce residents also saw "College Night" as a practical way to encourage student interest in the community.

"This is just the type of event to get the freshman to find downtown," Commerce resident Carolyn Thompson said.  "Getting them involved is the first step because we can keep them involved for the next four years"

There is hope within the community that if this event continues each year, more and more students will catch onto the idea and become more involved in the community, not just this particular event

 "The journey of every mile starts with a single step," Chamber of Commerce manager Trey Boyles said. "We have students dancing in the square. This is the first step in integrating and embracing a relationship between the university and the community."

The steps taken by the Chamber of Commerce did not go unnoticed by the students.

"By the city putting on something like this type of event, it shows the students that the community actually cares about us," senior business major Demarcus Thurman said.

Many other events are planned throughout the weekend.  Friday evening's events kick off at 5:00 p.m. with the Commerce Leadership Institute's barbeque on the square.

For more information on the events of The Bois d' Arc Bash, visit the Chamber of Commerce website at http://commerce-chamber.com/wp/.