BASH

Bishop Burbidge invites all middle school students of the Diocese to join him at BASH 2024!

BASH is our largest gathering of Catholic middle school students (6th-8th graders) every year! This event is a celebration of our Catholic faith and love of the Lord. We are planning for hundreds of middle school students to gather for an evening of faith, fellowship, and fun!

This event includes music, games, inspirational speakers, confessions, and a Vigil Mass for Sunday, with Bishop Burbidge as the principal celebrant. BASH is designed to be open to any Middle School aged youth that want to attend, so please welcome and invite them to participate in the life of the Catholic Church!

Our goal is to have all 70 parishes and 5 missions participating in this event. If you have a child in middle school, we encourage you to call your parish to see if they will be participating. Perhaps if they are not already planning to participate, this will change if they hear that there are interested families!

Details

WHEN: Saturday, May 4, 2024. 3:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Bishop O'Connell High School, Arlington, VA
COST: $15.00 per participant (youth and adults)
HOW TO SIGN UP: Young people that want to participate must sign up through their parish point of contact (usually the Director of Youth Ministry).
PROMO VIDEO: Take a look at the BASH 2024 Promo Video and share with others!

Speaker

Mari Pablo - Mari is well known for her dynamic presentations internationally at large events such as Steubenville Youth Conferences, World Youth Day, NCYC, NET, SEEK, diocesan events and more. She has worked in youth ministry for over 15 years, including serving as a youth minister and as a high school theology teacher. Mari is a presenter for Ascension Press on numerous projects and is currently serving parishes and universities across the country with The Evangelical Catholic. To learn more about Mari, visit her website.

Entertainment

Danny Ray - World-Renowned illusionist, keynote speaker, and author Danny Ray creates mind-blowing magic shows with a life-changing message. He uses sleight of hand magic to captivate audiences and make the messages memorable for a lifetime. He has partnered with over 1,400 ministries and performed for and spoken to over a million people. In 2021, Danny appeared on Penn and Teller: Fool Us and fooled them with a trick that has left Arlington audiences speechless! To learn more about Danny, visit his website.

Registration Procedures

Young people that want to participate must sign up through their parish point of contact usually the Director of Youth Ministry). The cost is $15.00 per participant (youth and adults), which includes entertainment, dinner, snacks, and a t-shirt.

Instructions for Directors of Youth Ministry to sign up your youth:

Get your youth excited about BASH by putting the poster up around the parish, sharing the promo video, and having some of your older, "veteran" youth talk about the event at a youth meeting or in their religious education class or the classes at the parish's school.
Get a headcount of how many will be participating, and download the BASH Permission Slip/Forma de Permiso for each to complete. Make sure you have at least one OPCYP compliant adult per ten youth participants.
You will register your group online. Registration is now open. The registration link and instructions can be found here: BASH 2024 online registration.
Fill out the Parish Participation Survey if you have youth participants that are willing to serve in these specific ways for Mass. This must be completed by 9:00 a.m. on Friday, April 26.
Online registration is open through Wednesday, May 1 at noon. If you would like to register any additional participants after that date, you may add them at check in on the day of the event.

Check-In Procedures

Come to BASH on Saturday, May 4 (check-in begins at 3:00 p.m.). Be sure to bring a SIGNED ORIGINAL permission slip for each participant and keep it with you at all times.
When you check in, you will verify your list of attendees, pick up pre-printed name tags and sign a statement agreeing to have the OYCYAM bill your parish $15.00 per attendee.
Your parish will be sent an invoice following BASH. Instructions on making your payment will be included.
BASH begins at 3:30 p.m. & concludes at 8:30 p.m.

Address and Directions

Address:
Bishop O'Connell High School
6600 Little Falls Rd
Arlington, VA 22213

Directions:
Take Rt. 66 East to Exit 69 (Lee Highway/Washington Blvd.). Go to traffic light at end of ramp and turn left onto Lee Highway. Go two blocks and turn left onto Underwood Street. Continue on Underwood for about three blocks. Bishop O'Connell High School is located on the right.

Downloads

Event Information
Permission Slip (English)
Permission Slip (Spanish)
Poster (printable, 11x17 pdf)
Poster (printable, 8.5x11 pdf)
Poster (printable, 8.5x11 jpg)
Poster - Spanish (printable, 11x17 pdf)
Poster - Spanish (printable, 8.5x11 pdf)
Poster - Spanish (printable, 8.5x11 jpg)

Future BASH dates

2025: Saturday, May 10
2026: Saturday, April 25
BASH will continue to be held at Bishop O'Connell High School.