Aug. 8 - HeavenFest

This was the big day before we left for vacation but it was also the day of HeavenFest. A real quick synopsis of what this is, it is 80+ Artists, 8 Stages, 8 Areas. Some of the big names that you may recognize...Matthew West, Phil Wickham, Stellar Kart, Seventh Day Slumber, Kutless, Skillet, and Third Day. The final count I heard on K-LOVE was 33,000 people attended.

Last year we went for a few hours in the evening. We wanted the kids to have naps first and then we headed out. This year we decided we would go for most of the day, which it started at noon. Well...that didn't quite happen. We left the house at noon and grabbed a quick bite at Subway before going. By the time we got into the line of cars it was around 1:00 and we were in line for about an hour.

A view of Northern Hills where HeavenFest was held, most of the tents, and lots of cars. Notice the line of cars waiting to go in.

We have entered the "line", from where I took this picture it took us an hour which typically would take 1-2 minutes.

The police guiding traffic.

Waiting in the van and ready to be there.

The Entrance

Headed through the crowd to find our spots by the main stage.

The Main Stage

Jeff pulling the wagon betweens chairs and blankets. I'm glad he was "driving".

Because we got there so late we missed some artists who we really wanted to see :( But we did get to see....

Seventh Day Slumber...I love this song!

Kutless...Love this song too!

(Jeff did the video on this.)

Skillet

Listening to the music...more then watching.

We also checked out some other cool stuff going on.

Skate Boarding

I saw the banner and thought "That's a good photo opportunity, their shirts even coordinate." The kids thought, "I don't want to do this, but if I have to, I'll shoot passer-by's with our umbrella's."

We then found the Kid Area. There were....

Bouncy's...

Animals to pet and hold...

Games...

A chance to be artistic...or at least write their names.

Headed out early, but all worn out.

I love the concept of HeavenFest, I love the people who put this together (GREAT JOB FOLKS!) I love that it is family friendly and they allow people to pay what they can afford. It was a little too hot for me and I don't handle "feeling" the music in my innards too well, except for that, it was a great experience for our family! We're ready for next year!

I'll close with my favorite part of the day. It's not spiritual but it was funny!

The lead singer of Skillet said it was time for the "power ballad", he then had to go and explain what a "power ballad" was to the younger generation. He hit on the long hair, the hair that was so big and full of Aqua Net you didn't want to light a match near it. He mentioned the bands that looked like girls. He spoke on how we had to buy a CD or cassette because we couldn't illegally download things off of the Internet and then he went through the tracks on the album. Then he got to Track 3, which was the "Power Ballad". The songs that all the girls loved, and the guys loved to, but didn't want anyone else to know.

Here is a clip of the "power ballad" he sang for us with the help of Kevin from Disciple.