Festival Con Dios 2002
by Trisha Bleau

I recently had the pleasure of being invited to attend Festival Con Dios 2002 as it swung through California. Tickets were arranged for our ministry and interviews set up with various performers including Mercy Me, Tree 63, Everyday Sunday, Jeremy Camp, and Bob Smiley. (Click on the name to listen to the interview)

It was interesting to sit by on the side and watch everything go up. Booths popped up, the stage equipment was plugged in and tested, people wandered around.... That was the most fun to watch. Artists that I listen to simply wandered around throughout the day, long before fans showed up. They said hi, smiled, and all but came over and talked to us as we sat by patiently waiting for our interviews to take place.

The festival itself was great. There were a lot of people there, the bands played awesome and gave great performances, and everything went smoothly. There were no problems technically and each group that went on got the crowd more pumped than the last. Kids were jumping, singing, and praising God. It was an awesome thing to watch.

Bob Smiley again MC-ed the event and had the crowd rolling. His comedy is great. If you have never experienced a concert with Bob Smiley then you are missing out and need to find one soon.

It was nice to be able to attend a festival where God was the focus. He was glorified. The staff members backstage had big peices of sidewalk chalk and walked around writing "God is the Rock" on poles and the ground to leave as a reminder for the next group coming through. We were on a college campus so it would definately serve as a testimony to people going through the area later.

I can honestly say I enjoyed the experience despite the rocky start we had with waiting for our interviews. At first things seemed utterly hopeless and disorganized, but it all came together just half an hour before the gates opened and the bands truly were a light to all of the youth and visitors to the festival.