SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) –LifeLight was a Labor Day weekend tradition for many KELOLAND families for decades, but the popular Christian music festival on a farm near Worthing hasn’t happened since 2016.
During Christmas last year, the Sioux Falls’ non-profit announced it’s bringing back the LifeLight festival for Labor Day weekend this year. Today they shared the brand new location and line up of bands that are coming back to Sioux Falls this fall.
“2016 was the last big festival at the farm that everybody remembers,” LifeLight CEO Josh Brewer said.
But since then, LifeLight has switched gears, hosting smaller festivals in communities all over the country and the world, while also running a community youth center near downtown Sioux Falls.
“We feel like that’s where the majority of the underprivileged people are at in our community,” Brewer said.
It’s why LifeLight decided to bring a festival back to Sioux Falls this Labor Day weekend, this time in the heart of the city.
“It will be one day, September 3rd and right in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls,” Brewer said.
That Sunday, the Sioux Falls LifeLight Festival will be taking over 22 acres of downtown.
“The stage will be placed at 8th and Railroad, but will also be taking over the CNA building, their two-story parking ramp, and then further to the south, it opens up to a field back there where we’ll have inflatables and a kids stage,” Brewer said.
They’ll only have one main stage with some big headliners already signed on for the event.
“Skillet will be one, so we’re excited to announce that, also Colton Dixon and Cade Thompson and many more artists, it will be a full day of bands,” Brewer said.
The festival will also flow into Fawick Park with several screens and other activities, allowing even more people to come to the free event.
“There will be an action sports area with BMX and other extreme sports, we will also have a basketball trick team coming out,” Brewer said. “We want this to be something that attraction all generations, something that attracts people of all interests.”
Brewer says the main goal of moving the festival from a field near Worthing to the heart of Sioux Falls is to provide easy access to the people LifeLight hopes to reach most.
“It will be blocks from the Union Gospel Mission, blocks from the Bishop Dudley house, so a big portion of the festival will be services, providing services for people, haircuts, clothing distributions, grocery distribution, along with a big stage.” Brewer said. “We want those people who follow Jesus to come be a part of it, in addition to that the festival is still about reaching people in our community and that’s what we believe gives us the best opportunity to do so.
LifeLight is working with the city for all of their event and parking plans; they will have more maps available online closer to the event to help people navigate the new festival grounds.
Brewer says LifeLight will also need plenty of volunteers for this new event.
“We need people to help with production, we’ll need people to help with security, we need just someone to smile at people and welcome them as they come. If you can smile, then you are qualified to help,” Brewer said.
You can learn more about volunteering with LifeLight on their website.
