This past weekend, I attended the Singing In The Foothills in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. This two day event featured some of Southern Gospel music's top names and thanks to the help of corporate sponsors, every penny that came through the gate went to benefit the Ebenezer Children's Home in Wilkesboro.
Since this was a brand new event, event organizers really didn't know what to expect. They felt that they had assembled a strong line-up of talent (and if Greater Vision, Gold City, Talley Trio, Perrys, Michael Combs, Whisnants, Dove Brothers, Pfeifers, Karen Peck & New River, the McRraes and area young artists Victoria Huggins and Jonathan Cox are not strong talent, I don't know who is) and when all the prep work was done, all they could do was sit back and wait.
Then the cars started coming. In droves. Friday night's attendance was just shy of 2,000. On Saturday, the attendance jumped to around 3,000. Considering that this is a brand new event, those numbers are nothing to laugh about. With an average ticket price of about $19, that means a potential $95,000.00 was raised (not to mention a talent contest that was held on Saturday morning). I've not heard the actual final number, but it's going to be close to that figure I just gave.
This was a win-win situation for all involved. Because of the sponsorships that were involved, the artists were able to perform and receive their normal appearance fees - something that's not often heard of when Southern Gospel artists are asked to take part in a benefit event. The kids at the Ebenezer Childrens Home won in a big way because of the funding that was raised to support the home's on-going ministry.
Southern Gospel music was also a big winner. Many of the people who attended the event didn't really know what Southern Gospel music is. They came out to support the home. But they left fans of the artists who appeared and of Southern Gospel itself.
There are way too many people to name who made this benefit a success. The entire staff of the Ebenezer Children's Home worked tirelessly to do their part; John Wishon and the staff at WWWC in Wilkesboro pulled out all the stops to make this a success as did Kathy Gray and Nancy Watson. That's just a few - there were dozens more and if I knew all of their names, I'm list them, too.
All the artists walked away remarking at what a greatly organized event the Singing In The Foothills is. In fact, they may have had more fun that the audience. They truly appreciated the extra steps the staff took to make their day more pleasant - singing outside is not always the most fun an artist will ever have.
Plans are now in the works for a 2007 edition of Singing In The Foothills. The staff has asked for recommendations for improvement for next year. If they improve the level of this event next year, they're going to have to work extra hard because they left themselves very little room for improvement straight out of the gate.
And if you're going to have a problem, that's the kind to have.
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To learn more about the Ebenezer Children's Home, visit www.egcch.org
