We love going to see live music. We have been doing it for
years, going to small concerts all over the city. Because we are Christians, we
generally go to see the bands that we listen to. We have seen, back in the day,
bands like Petra, Mylon, DeGarmo and Key, Kenny Marks; more recently, MercyMe, Third
Day, and TobyMac, to name ONLY a few. We have been to some small shows, where
friends were playing at a coffee shop, to big shows like U2 and Elton John,
playing to thousands of fans in huge arenas. I think the most fun we have is at
the outdoor festivals.
I remember, as a teenager, some of the older youth and
college-aged kids going to a festival called Jesus Northwest. Many of my
favorite bands were playing, and I really wanted to go. It was a few years
later that I went with Stefani’s family to attend JNW in Vancouver, Washington.
We saw some great bands and had a really good time. We had so much fun that we
went a few more years, until they stopped in 1997. I have read some reasons why
they stopped, but I don’t want to go into them.
Creation festivals has been running almost as long as JNW,
and they started getting more popular. We started going to those festivals
pretty early on. We have also attended Sonfest the two years they ran in
Abbotsford and Chilliwack. But there is a new kid on the block!
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| TobyMac & Diverecity |
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| Peter Furler |
Praisefest ran on August 1 of this year. It was a one day
festival that featured big names of Peter Furler, Red, Matthew West, and
TobyMac. They also had a number of smaller and local bands, such as Love and
the Outcome and Brian Doerkson. It was held at the dusty Stetson Bowl at the
Cloverdale Fair Grounds. The day was hot, and it started really early for us.
Lately we have found ourselves so bored that we are
volunteering for things: Canada Day parade in Vancouver, Run Disney Avengers Superheroes
Half Marathon in Disneyland, and Going Ape Geocaching event at Iron Horse
Washington State Park. Yesterday we volunteered to help set up at Praisefest.
The day started pretty early for us. After quick stops at
Tim Hortons and Starbucks, we arrived at the fair ground at 7AM for our shift.
Things were a little disorganized, but we finally got started carrying tables
and cleaning up garbage at around 7:45. After about an hour of this
back-breaking labor, we sat down in the bleachers and rested, waiting for our
leader to find us more to do. He didn’t, so we stayed put and enjoyed watching
the other teams work in sound and lights and merchandising. Our shift was to be
over at 10AM, but it was over at more like 9.
Being a volunteer definitely has its advantages. We got
there early, so we got a great parking spot; as a volunteer, we actually got a
staff/VIP spot (normally $10) for free. We also got a wrist band that gave us
full in/out privileges, so we could leave things in the car while we worked. We
could bring in our own food and drinks. We also got a free ticket for general
admission, so we could sit anywhere except on the floor area where they had
assigned seats. But we are too old and spoiled for general admission, so we
actually paid for assigned seats … and what great seats they were! I would
definitely recommend volunteering for something like this, but you have to be
able to handle a little disorganization.
To the organizers of Praisefest, and other events like it:
Take careful consideration of the rules you set, and make sure that you have
thought them through very carefully before writing them in stone. For example,
not allowing ANY outside food or drinks, especially on yet another record-breaking
hot day, basically says that you are forcing people to pay $3 for a bottle of
tepid water, or drink tap water. Then, to see many people come in with coolers
full of drinks while you stand in line with your single bottle of Dasani? That
is going to make some people upset. I noticed that the rule was very relaxed,
and many people were allowed in with water and drinks, but I wonder how many
people did not come because of it, or came but were disappointed to see others “breaking”
the rules.
Another example to the organizers: people paid upwards to
$175 for special seats, up front, with good views and great sound. To allow
people from general admission to rush the stage and stand in front of us did
not bring us any pleasure. Your security people finally figured it out for the
closing act, for which we were all thankful. And to the people that rushed the
stage … be mindful of who you are. I think Jesus would have us respect the authority
set over us, even at a Christian event. So if the security person says sorry
you have to go back to your seat, don’t pretend that you can’t hear them, or blatantly
disobey. Ask yourself, “what would Homer do?”, then do the opposite!
I would love to volunteer for this event again. First,
volunteers make the event happen; without volunteers to do a lot of the grunt
work, they would have to pay someone to do it, and the cost would be added to
the ticket prices, resulting in fewer ticket sales, and possibly cancellation
of the event. Second, the perks are great, even if the work is hard. Maybe next
year we can volunteer to help organize the volunteers, or be part of the Street
Team, answering all the silly questions online. Read the FAQs people!
So, as the summer progresses, and we find ourselves doing a
few more of these volunteer stints, I will always keep in mind how hard it is
to organize an event like this (I’ve helped organize a couple of small ones, so
I know!), and be patient with the team leaders. And when we attend an event, be
respectful of the volunteers, knowing they are doing their best with the
limited resources they have.
Have a fun summer, and go do something!
