WorshipEast
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What was WorshipEast?WorshipEast 2005 was a praise and worship music festival held on Saturday August 6, 2005 at 71 Downing Street on top of the baseball hill in Marysville near Fredericton, New Brunswick. The producer and promoter was Allan Price. The web designer was Eric Porter Sponsors included radio stations CIXN, CITA, CKOE, CINU and others. Music performers included:
View the video: http://www.joyfm.ca/worshipeast.wvx
Featuring local and internationally known Christian musicians like Big Daddy Weave, ZoeGirl, Three Season Ant, The LaPointes, Carried Away, Thirst for You and The Contact, the concert was held in a large field behind Fredericton's First Pentecostal Church. The audience of mostly teens and young adults braved the scorching sun to listen, sing and dance along to their favourite artists. As well as the usual snacks and merchandise for sale, there was also a small paintball pitch and an inflated "bouncy" area for children. Radio stations, New Brunswick Christian bookstores and churches from the Maritimes into the state of Maine promoted the event. Attendance, however, was down by an estimated 500 people from the 2004 event with 1,200 people attending this year. Price acknowledged that finances are a big challenge and that attendance did not cover expenses this year. "By the time you rent a stage out of Montreal, and pay the bands an honorarium, it costs a lot of money. But we pray that the Lord will provide. It often takes at least five years for this sort of event to break even," he said. But, said Price, who headed up mainstream concerts before coming on board with JoyFM, events like WorshipEast are not always about profit. "This year we decided to grow. We tried new things . . . When I watched more than 1,000 people with their hands lifted, praising God, I knew it was worth it. "There certainly are challenges bringing this sort of thing to a smaller market," said Price. "We're an unknown. When we contact groups to ask them to come they say, 'You're from where?' But we're working to overcome that." Another challenge is to get the support of the entire Christian community. "If this kind of event is going to work we need everyone's support. Those older need to help the youth. We need to look at the big picture. Let's spread the Word of God." He pointed to a conversation with some youth at this year's event as a prime example of the potential of WorshipEast. "When we were setting up on Friday, two local, notorious troublemakers came by and asked what was going on. They were sceptical about Christian music but Garth [MacRae, director of JoyFM] invited them to come back and hear Big Daddy Weave. They did. It may have been the first time they heard the gospel." No decision has been made about whether WorshipEast will be held again next year but Price is hopeful. "I'm happy with the success of the event even with the smaller crowd. All the artists and artists' management are saying 'You're doing it right' and this is good. I'm happy to be involved in an event that challenges lives. Source: http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/na.cgi?nationalupdates/050908worship
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