A Wonderful Concert!

      Elevate 2012 is now a thing of the past.  Yesterday we braved temperatures that were almost unbearable (one report said the temp reached 109 degrees) to prepare for Elevate and then to enjoy the concert last night.  I am amazed that an estimated 1000 people braved the heat to hear For King & Country, Josh Wilson, and Kutless.  It was a wonderful concert.  One of the perks of being on the Elevate committee is interacting with the band members and crews.  It is so interesting to hear where they've been and what they are doing.  They were all very gracious and thankful for our efforts to help them enjoy their time with us.
       It is always a major production to get ready for the concert.  Several of us worked for 6 or 7 hours on Friday night setting up the stage, preparing food, etc.  Then we all began again at 7:00 on Saturday morning and continued past midnight last night.  We still have several things to pick up and return today.
     For each of the concerts --2010, 2011, and 2012--we have rented a state-fair-quality stage that is brought in from Champaign, and set up on the infield of the racetrack on the Martinsville fairgrounds.  The stage comes as a flatbed trailer which is expanded on site.  Lights and speakers are then hung from the frame and a huge sound board is installed to run all the equipment.  This is an amazing process to watch.  It takes a crew of several men a couple of hours to assemble and disassemble.

       Two large tents--one to be used as a hospitality tent for the bands and the other to sell their merchandise are also erected on the site.

The Hospitality Tent

          In previous years we have used a large tent for the prayer tent, but this year we decided to use shade canopies and have two prayer tents.  This seemed to work just as well as the large tent and were much easier to set up.  We also installed shade canopies to protect the workers who sold water at the event.  Campers which were used to serve as dressing rooms for the bands, and many generators to run the stage equipment, camper air conditioners and to provide electricity for the merchandise tent were borrowed and rented.  Lunch and dinner for 45-50 people was catered.  Picnic tables were brought to the area to be used in the hospitality tent and tables were borrowed from the firehouse for the Merchandise tent.  A refrigerated trailer had to be procured to keep the water and food cold, and 2 horse watering tanks were brought in hold the iced water for sale.  (The local meat locker froze 5 gallon buckets of water for us to use to cool the bottles during the concert.)  Bounce houses were rented and installed on site for the children.  We even brought our Mule to the fairgrounds to be used to transport water, people, equipment, etc.  And then of course, all of this had to be returned.  

     The whole process is a labor of love and a sacrifice of praise to the Lord that makes it possible for members of His body to come together for a night of praise and worship while enjoying a fun family time.  What a blessing!  It is well worth the preparation!