Three-peat: ABLE wins Bisons Weekend parade

Lipscomb students, alumni and parents gathered in Bison Square on Friday to watch the Bisons Weekend parade.

Campus clubs and organizations decorate floats and participate in the parade, which runs through campus and culminates in the Bison Square. This year’s theme was “men’s and women’s basketball opponents for the 25-26 seasons.” Each float featured one team that Lipscomb would play this season. For example, Sigma Iota Delta featured Lipscomb vs. Tennessee Tech University with the tagline, “Cookeville is getting cooked.” The College of Education featured Lipscomb vs. Marshall University with the tagline, “Let the purple reign.”

The Lipscomb pep band set the tone as each group paraded through the square. One group in particular caught the judges’ eye.

Seniors Morgan Botts and Bayleigh Pirtle serve as co-presidents for ABLE, an inclusive club on campus that seeks to connect Lipscomb students with peers of diverse abilities. These ladies spent hours decorating the float. “We just take the parade very seriously,” said Bayleigh Pirtle. “This is our crowning event of the year,” said Morgan Botts.

The ABLE float was a circus tent, complete with students from the club following behind dressed as circus acts and passing out popcorn to the crowd, making it not only the judges’ favorite but also a crowd favorite.

President McQueen announced the winners to conclude the parade. “The pressure was really on,” said Botts. The ABLE group cheered as its name was announced, solidifying its third victory in a row.

Botts and Pirtle are both graduating this year, but Pirtle said, “We will be back to observe the parade, and we will cheer for ABLE no matter who is in charge. But, there is kind of a little bit of a legacy.”