Calling all nerds and men of faith

Nerd alert!

There is an event coming up in San Antonio at the end of the month that “Star Wars” fans and other pop culture geeks will not want to miss.

(OK, I know San Antonio is a little out of our coverage area, but it is one of the closest metropolitan areas where we can go to enjoy major events.)

Celebrity Fan Fest is returning to Six Flags Fiesta Texas on July 31 through Aug. 8 and the guest list is incredible. For die hard Star Warriors, it's an opportunity to see and meet Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), and several voice actors from the various animated series’ (do they still call them cartoons?).

Aside from “Star Wars,” the show features Owen Wilson (“Loki,” “Night at the Museum”), Ray Fisher (Cyborg from “Justice League”), Charlie Cox (“Daredevil”), Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch (“Superman and Lois”), and numerous other celebrities with more to be announced.

To buy tickets or to learn more about the event, visit celebrityfanfest.com or follow them on Facebook and other social media.

 

Man up

This Friday and Saturday (July 16-17) at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Promise Keepers is holding its first stadium event since the late 1990s. I won’t call it a comeback because Promise Keepers never left. It’s more of a revival. The event was supposed to take place last year, but the pandemic put the kibosh on that.

I’m planning to attend this event. Promise Keepers radically transformed my life back in its heyday. It was co-founded in 1990 by former University of Colorado head football coach Bill McCartney. Throughout the 1990s it grew from a gathering at Folsom Field to Mile High Stadium and then stadiums across the country. The only stadium event I attended was at Mile High in 1996. I had just returned home to Colorado after the breakup of my first marriage. The next year I was at Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men, held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This was the climax event for the organization, drawing an estimated one million men.

From there PK moved to arena events and later to church gatherings and other small venues. I got to know Coach McCartney back then and I reported on many PK events for my hometown paper. He even read one of my columns about marriage on his radio program called “Fourth and Goal.” I always admired his passion and enthusiasm for reaching men for Christ. He was driven to make men better husbands and fathers. He created a great awakening in the church, getting men to become more involved and to support their pastors. He always taught men to be servant leaders full of humility and compassion. He was also on the forefront of getting men to reach across racial lines.

If you’ve never been to a Promise Keepers event, or if it’s been a while, you might want to consider going. This is the only one that will be held in the nation this year. Among the speakers are Nick Vujicic, Tauren Wells, Jonathan Evans, Les Parrott, Cody Carnes, and several Dallas Cowboy legends.

For you younger men, this is a great opportunity to become inspired and get fired up about serving God, church, and family. You can register or learn more at www.promisekeepers.org.

 

Eclectic events

I admit that this mix of sacred and secular events is a little strange, but that’s who I am. This column is called Faith, Family & Fun and these two events are a part of that. I’m also a sports fan and from time to time I talk about football and baseball. If you ever get the chance to visit me in my office, you’ll see a lot of sports memorabilia where the books should be in my bookcase. It’s not that I’m weird or conflicted, I’m just passionate. And in the span of three weeks, I hope to build my faith and to have a little fun. If you’re so inclined, I hope you’ll join me.

 

joe@fredericksburgstandard.com