Teddy James
AFA Journal staff writer
May 2015 – In August 1969, over 400,000 people flooded a dairy farm in upstate New York. People came from far and wide to participate in Woodstock, a three-day music festival featuring headliners Jimi Hendrix, Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Band, and The Who.
The era was full of multi-day music festivals. Many were successful, but none gained the cultural notoriety of Woodstock.
This infamous event, and others like it during the decade, inspired Dr. Bob Lyons, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, to create an event focusing on worship, fellowship, and great Christian music.
A movement for an era
With the help of a group of students, Lyons celebrated the inaugural Ichthus Music Festival in Wilmore in 1970. Immediately the group knew they had something special on their hands. Ichthus became the largest, and eventually longest running, Christian music festival in the country. Every spring thousands of attendees would bring their tents and sleeping bags. The fields surrounding the festival would become a sea of colors dotted with campfires. In the center of it all stood five stages where hundreds of artists and bands performed over the years.
Ichthus ran unbridled for 42 years until a mixture of falling ticket sales, debt, and market changes forced the ministry to close its doors in 2012. That year’s festival was canceled and it seemed an era was dying at the same time.
A movement for a new generation
Then Creation Festivals stepped in. The national ministry bought Ichthus and brought new life into the ministry. They kept many of Ichthus’ original staff and planned on beginning the festival again in 2014. Due to many factors, they had to postpone the renewed Creation Ichthus until 2015, but the event will be worth the wait.
Bill Darpino, president of Creation Festivals, told AFA Journal, “We felt it was important for this event to keep impacting this area of the country as a place where Christians can come together, worship together, and fellowship together.”
On July 8-11, thousands of people will descend on Lexington, Kentucky, the new location of Ichthus.
Darpino said, “Our driving vision behind Creation is giving tribute to our Creator. We felt it was a great theme to use this year for Ichthus and so we will constantly wave that banner during the festival.”
A movement for the family
One of the many aspects setting Ichthus apart is that it holds something for every member of the family. The mainstream stage will hold the biggest names including Newsboys, Relient K, Matthew West, Colton Dixon, and more. The Edge Stage will cater to a younger crowd with the heavy metal sound of Disciple and Random Hero. The American Stage has a more acoustic feel and includes the sounds of The Vespers and I Am They. Other stages include the Deep End Stage, the Hip Hop Stage, the Kids Stage, and the Late Night Stage.
During Ichthus, the music stops only for the teaching of Scripture. During that time, every shop, every food vendor, every stage is quiet, except for those sharing the gospel. This year’s speakers include Reggie Dabbs, Tony Nolan, Anne Beller, Duffy Robins, Tony Campolo, and many more.
For the full lineup of artists and speakers, visit ichthusfestival.com. 
Creation Festivals hosts festivals across America during the summer months. The Northeast Festival takes place on Agape Farm in Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania, June 24-27; the River Rock Festival in Sunday River Resort, Maine, is July 3-4; Sonshine Festival in Somerset, Wisconsin, July 16-18; and the Northwest Festival in Kennewick, Washington, July 30-August 1. For tickets and more information, visit creationfest.com.
