Ichthus Festival

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ichthus Festival is a yearly, Christian music festival in Wilmore, KY. The most recent one was held June 15-18, 2006. The next one will likely be held around the same time in the summer of 2007.

Ichthus features well-known Christian bands and speakers. Among those performing in 2006 were Jeremy Camp, Day of Fire, Sanctus Real, Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar, Kutless, Casting Crowns, KJ-52, Audio Adrenaline, Matt Redman, Skillet, and David Crowder Band.

Ichthus is the first and longest running Christian music festival in America. It began in 1970 as a Christian alternative to the Woodstock festival in 1969. The idea was conceived by Doctor Bob Lyon, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, and some students. The festival was held at the Wilmore Campgrounds until the spring of 1999. At that time, the festival was moved to the "Ichthus Farm", land purchased two years before in 1997. The Ichthus Farm is a 111 acre site with a main stage, three small stages, and shower facilities. Participants, which average somewhere in the 20,000 range, camp in tents and trailers on the Farm grounds.

During the time at the Ichthus Farm, severe weather events have dominated the last four years. In 2002, severe storms brought heavy rain and strong winds in the early morning hours on Sunday morning. Thankfully, the storms were well forecast, and many individuals were evacuated following the final concert the night before to area churches and schools. In 2003, strong storms again seemed to threaten the festival, resulting in Friday night concerts being cancelled. Interestingly enough, radar images from that night seem to show a sudden area of clearing directly above the festival as the storms moved in, shielding participants from the heavy rain, dangerous lightning, and strong winds. This is now referred to as the Ichthus Rainy Day Miracle. In 2004, heavy rains on the opening day of the festival effectively shut down the road system on the Ichthus Farm and in the surrounding Wilmore area. The rain resulted in several inches of mud across the entire Farm. In response, Ichthus personnel installed several miles of paved and gravel roads within the Farm to avoid the same situation. Finally, in 2005, a line of severe storms moved in on Friday night ahead of a very strong cold front. The storms packed winds in excess of 60 mph, sending tents and shelters flying. The associated cold front brought sustained winds of 40 mph, and temperatures dipping into the mid thirties on Saturday evening, along with light snow showers. These recent spring-time weather events warrented a change from the orginial late April date to a later one in mid-June, beginning in 2006.

Recently, Ichthus Minstries, Inc. began a series of Ichthus Tours to increase awareness for the festival and unite churches.