Thousands to attend Horizon Christian music festival over Labor Day weekend
Thousands are expected to attend the two-day Horizon Music Festival over Labor Day weekend to worship the Lord and to hear the Gospel message in Gering, Nebraska.
Taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Grasslands at Five Rocks, the festival strives "to boldly proclaim and unite around the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
The organizers say their vision is to host a free Christian music festival with artists, preachers and family-centered activities and provide a space for Christian fellowship.
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The event is free admission so that anyone has the chance to attend and be changed by Christ.
"We are going to boldly unite and proclaim the Gospel," Horizon Music Festival talent coordinator Ken Boehr told The Star-Herald.
"That really gave us the vision to have a free concert because we understood that those people that may not believe in Jesus wouldn't necessarily buy a ticket to come to a Christian concert."
Because admission is free, the organizers had to find other ways to fund the event.
Residents in the community and various businesses united to make the event financially feasible, Boehr said.
"The community has been phenomenally supportive. I think everybody feels the same need," Boehr added.
"We look at society and everybody is confused about life and confused about who we are and who we're made to be and the purpose of life. And on top of that, we're coming out of COVID and the difficulties and trauma people experienced from that. … We know that Jesus is the answer."
Boehr noted that many donors were drawn to the festival's goal of reaching the community with the message of hope and faith.
"It's very clear that our community needs something like this to draw one another together and provide a sense of community to people who are hurting, people who feel isolated and I believe we have the answer through the Word of God," Boehr said.
Boehr predicts that the event will gather roughly 10,000 people.
"We knew the amphitheater itself would be way too small, so we looked at the fields surrounding it, knowing that we'd have enough room for parking and food vendors and a marketplace," Boehr told the newspaper.
"The concert will be on what they call the Grasslands right next to Roubidoux Park and Kahuna Park."
Saturday's performances at Horizon will start at 4:15 p.m. with performances by Spoken, Jamie Grace, The Afters and Saturday's headliner, Citizens.
There will also be areas designated for children and teenagers, different booths with local ministries that will provide resources for attendees battling with addiction, poverty, unplanned pregnancies and more.
The second day of the festival will feature a special church service on the main stage that is endorsed by community churches.
"On Sunday, we have a church service for anybody to come. That's at 11 a.m. with Jared Anderson leading worship and Keith Becker preaching the message," Boehr detailed.
Comedian Jaron Myers will take the stage for a show at 2 p.m. on Sunday followed by worship performances by artists Jared Anderson, Sarah Reeves, Meredith Andrews and Jordan Feliz.
"In between the artists, we'll have different testimonies from people who have been changed because of what Jesus Christ has done in their lives," Boehr said, adding that baseball player Austin Byler and MMA fighter Nate Marquardt will share their testimonies.
To conclude the event, Christian singer-songwriter, David Wallace Crowder, who is known by his stage name, Crowder, will take the stage at 9 p.m. Sunday night for a final worship performance.
Crowder has sold over 3 million records and was previously nominated for three Grammy awards.
Nicole Alcindor is a reporter for The Christian Post.
