(Phoenix/Tempe, AZ) The skies of the Valley of the Sun were filled with flying motorcycles, live music, and words of hope through faith in Jesus Christ on March 19 & 20 at Arizona CityFest with Luis Palau. The free, family-friendly festival drew an estimated 110,000+ over two days to Tempe Town Lake.
“This was an unforgettable campaign,” said world evangelist and author Luis Palau. “More than 550 churches, dozens of businesses and thousands of volunteers worked tirelessly to make this happen.”
CityFest and the surrounding Season of Service initiative were endorsed by nine Valley mayors, with business leader Jerry Colangelo and NFL superstar Kurt Warner serving as honorary co-chairs.
Top musical artists, including TobyMac, Skillet, The Band Perry, and Mat Kearney brought live music for the two days of proclamation at the park. World-class action sports and a family fun zone also entertained crowds, which were among the largest to ever gather at Tempe Lake Park. CityFest represented two days of proclamation of the Good News, the culmination of a region-wide campaign launched last October. Over the past seven months more than 35,000 volunteers have joined in to help serve the needs of the area.
Season of Service volunteers from the faith community provided an estimated 140,000 hours of labor at more than 450 projects. In addition, an organization called City Serve Arizona has been established with the goal of building and growing the level of community services for years to come.
“The goal of the Season of Service was to build a foundation for long-term partnerships among churches, public agencies and service organizations to serve in areas of need,” said the Palau ministry’s president Kevin Palau. “We’ve seen long-term sustainability in previous cities such as Portland, Little Rock, and San Diego and we’ll work for similar results in the Valley.”
CityFest itself was a nonstop, two-day event full of music, extreme sports demonstrations and family activities, including specific programs in English and Spanish. During both days Palau shared the clear Gospel message of Jesus Christ and called people to public commitments. Testimonies also came from guest speakers including baseball All-Star Josh Hamilton and Luis Palau’s son Andrew. The younger Palau flew directly from a festival he was speaking at in Kingston, Jamaica – attended by an estimated 60,000 people on Saturday – to participate in CityFest on Sunday.
The festival week also included an event for business and civic leaders – including welcoming remarks from Governor Jan Brewer – and a women’s luncheon and expo.
The Oregon-based Luis Palau Association has brought a message of hope through faith in Jesus Christ to more than 1 billion people through radio, television, the Internet, books and articles, including 28 million people face-to-face in 73 nations. Palau’s daily radio broadcasts are heard by tens of millions of listeners on 3,000+ radio outlets in 48 countries. He is the author of close to 50 books including his latest, “Changed by Faith” (Tyndale, 2011), which released this month.
Palau’s next projects include outreaches in Vietnam, France and China.
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11:30 p.m. The park was filled to capacity for day two of Arizona CityFest. Andrew flew from the Fun in the Son Festival in Jamaica to share his testimony. Luis followed up with a Gospel presentation that was met with an overwhelming response. Josh Hamilton, MVP player for the Texas Rangers, also shared his testimony. Those in attendance enjoyed action sports demos, family fun, and concerts by top artists like The Band Perry and Skillet. Arizona CityFest is over, but the work is just beginning. Arizona CityServe will continue the work of the Season of Service for years to come.
6:30 p.m. The crowds are already larger than yesterday and the show is just beginning. Israel Houghton performed before a full park, and excitement is building. Luis and Andrew Palau will both present the Good News. Performances by The Band Perry and Skillet still to come.
3:00 p.m. Even larger crowds are expected at Tempe Town Lake today. The Family Fun Zone and Action Sports areas have had Gospel presentations this afternoon with second presentations taking place shortly. Tonight Andrew and Luis Palau will share the Good News, and there will be free performances by The Band Perry, Skillet, Dave Lubben and more. MVP baseball player for the Texas Rangers, Josh Hamilton, will share his testimony later this evening.
11 p.m. Day one of Arizona CityFest was a tremendous success. An estimated crowd of 60,000 came to Tempe Town Lake for live performances by Mat Kearney, Phil Wickham, Marisol, Dave Lubben, and TobyMac. Luis presented the Good News in Spanish in the afternoon and English in the evening, with great responses to both presentations. Earlier in the afternoon, the Family Fun Zone was full for Gospel presentations by Ventriloquist Mark Thompson as well as several appearances by Bob & Larry from the VeggieTales. The action sports area featured demos by FMX, BMX, and skateboarding professionals. Tempe Mayor, Hugh Hallman, came to the event to share his enthusiasm for CityFest and the Season of Service.
This Is a Mission Worth Celebrating >>
(Read the Arizona Republic story)
(Phoenix, AZ) Luis Palau festivals, the free, family-friendly celebrations that have drawn more than 8.8 million people since 1999 from south Florida to South America, are bringing Arizona CityFest with Luis Palau to Tempe Town Lake on Saturday & Sunday, March 19 & 20. Activities are scheduled from 1:00 to 10:00 p.m. and admission is FREE.
Arizona CityFest will showcase an eclectic musical mix, from hip-hop to rock (TobyMac, Mat Kearney and Skillet), country to gospel (The Band Perry and Israel Houghton), and Latin pop to praise music (Marisol, Contagious and Phil Wickham). Action sports demos will feature top pro/am athletes from the extreme sports of skateboarding, freestyle motocross and BMX. Video superstars Bob & Larry from the VeggieTales video series will host a massive Family Fun Zone.
A special program in Spanish is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, March 19. Also on Saturday, a Community Resource Fair will offer free services in the areas of health care, housing, jobs, and food/nutrition.
The Resource Fair is a partnership with CityFest, the Collaboration for a New Century, valley-area service agencies, and local churches under the banner “Season of Service.” By CityFest weekend, tens of thousands of volunteers are expected to have served in hundreds of Season of Service projects focused on homelessness, hunger, schools, neighborhood revitalization and families in need.
Since 1999, Palau festival events have been changing the face of contemporary faith celebrations around the world. Recent festivals have attracted massive crowds, including 900,000 in Buenos Aires; 250,000 in Houston, and 300,000 in Fort Lauderdale. On September 11, 2010, more than 50,000 attended a one-day CityFest in San Diego.
The Oregon-based Palau Association has brought a message of hope through faith to more than one billion people through radio, television, the Internet, books and articles, including 25 million people face-to-face in 72 countries.
For further information about Arizona CityFest and the Season of Service visit the website or call the festival office at 602.385.0766.
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