Smoky Mountain Winterfest Underway
Friday, March 11, 2016–Knoxville, TN–The Church of God’s largest single youth event is taking place this weekend as thousands of youth and youth leaders gather at the Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
Registration takes place all day in anticipation of the first session which kicks off tonight. An all-star lineup of Christian contemporary artists, bands and speakers headline this year’s event, which concludes with a third service on Sunday morning, March 13.
“Smoky Mountain Winterfest continues to be the premier annual event for Church of God youth,” stated Gary Lewis, director of Church of God Youth and Discipleship. “This is the event that started it all more than 30 years ago and it has spawned other regional Winterfests across the nation. Between January and March, around 50,000 young people will attend a Winterfest.” Other locations of Winterfest include Indianapolis, Ind., Ocean City, Md., Arlington, Texas, Rochester, N.Y., Branson, Mo., and Ventura, Calif. The final Winterfest of the season will be SonFest, held in Orlando, Fla. next weekend.
Speakers at Smoky Mountain Winterfest include Reggie Dabbs, Preston Centuolo, Samuel Rodriguez and Stovall Weems. Musical groups and artists include Clark Beckham, Curtis Bridgeman, Jamie Grace, Jordan Smith, Planetshakers, Lee University Campus Choir and City Harmonic.
General sessions are held in the evenings on Friday and Saturday to allow youth groups to enjoy the east Tennessee attractions, including Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Winterfest concludes with session 3 on Sunday morning.
For more information, visit www.winterfest2016.com.
