Rock the Lake
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Crossover Music Festival cuts ticket prices to welcome more fans
By Deborah Wolfe, The Lake Today
Ernie White endured the death of his wife from cancer and his mother's murder before finding solace in the warm embrace of music on a starlit Ozark night. Thinking all was lost, he attended the Cross-over Christian Music Festival in Camdenton last June.
"My wife passed away in 2007 after fighting breast cancer for almost five years. We have two daughters, at the time they were 7 and 5 years old," White said. "Watching my best friend slowly die was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I questioned how God could let a good woman and great mother suffer like this."
After filling out a simple card asking for a ministry call he returned home to cope with the disastrous cards life had dealt him. The call came the same day he was to attend the trial of his mother's murderer.
"A little over a month after my wife passed away, my mother was murdered at the hotel she worked at in Columbia. My mother was a great lady. She would help anyone that she could whenever and however she could," White continued. "Knowing the things that happened to my mother on that night has been very hard to live with. I had a lot of anger in my heart towards God and a lot of hate for the person who killed my mother."
The inspiration he found at Crossover, along with the counsel of a compassionate minister consoled his battered soul. With renewed strength, White confronted his mother's attacker and the demons that raged within.
"My wife passed away in 2007 after fighting breast cancer for almost five years. We have two daughters, at the time they were 7 and 5 years old," White said. "Watching my best friend slowly die was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I questioned how God could let a good woman and great mother suffer like this."
After filling out a simple card asking for a ministry call he returned home to cope with the disastrous cards life had dealt him. The call came the same day he was to attend the trial of his mother's murderer.
"A little over a month after my wife passed away, my mother was murdered at the hotel she worked at in Columbia. My mother was a great lady. She would help anyone that she could whenever and however she could," White continued. "Knowing the things that happened to my mother on that night has been very hard to live with. I had a lot of anger in my heart towards God and a lot of hate for the person who killed my mother."
The inspiration he found at Crossover, along with the counsel of a compassionate minister consoled his battered soul. With renewed strength, White confronted his mother's attacker and the demons that raged within.
“That day at the festival there was a guest speaker. He was loud, a telling it like it is kind of guy. He started telling his story and how he came to know God,” White recalled. “I felt a lot of emotions stirring in me. As I stood there with my head bowed I felt a lot of anger I had toward God flowing from my soul. I left Crossover feeling like I had hope. I still have a long journey ahead of me but I feel like I’m on the right path.”
White is among thousands of believers and seekers who have found comfort, strength and renewed joy in life through the music and ministry of Crossover. One of mid-America’s largest Christian music events, the festival takes place June 12th and 13th at Stoneridge Amphitheater in Camdenton. Each day, fans will enjoy seven hours of ministry, worship and soulful music performances.
Conceived by former Convention and Visitors Bureau director, Joel Pottinger, the event was originally intended to be a southern gospel festival. But contemporary Christian music was gaining in popularity and cementing a foothold in the nation’s music scene. Organizers decided on a compromise that resulted in a four-day music festival with artists from both genres performing to more than 3,000 fans each night.
Crossover continued to grow and is now a much anticipated and respected highlight of the Lake Area’s summer activities. Fans and musicians alike, applaud the festival for its uplifting atmosphere and beautiful surroundings.
It is an opportunity to celebrate their faith among beautiful landscape and a wealth of family-friendly activities.
“Although Crossover is a spiritual event that brings together people of all denominations,” said lead volunteer, Alan Sullivan. “It has also been a valuable opportunity for people to come to the Lake of the Ozarks and enjoy everything the Lake has to offer.”
Organizers drastically slashed ticket prices this year in an effort to relieve the stress of families dealing with the burden of unemployment and a tough economy. The cost is only $10 each night at the gate with a $5 parking fee.
“We recognize people are struggling in this economy so we wanted to make the Crossover Festival affordable for all,” Sullivan said. “We felt cutting the price by 70 percent from last years prices would allow more people to attend and still enable us to meet our budget.”
There is no advance or group discounts and even volunteers are paying the full ticket price in order to afford more people the opportunity to attend.
“In these tough economic times we feel its important to reach out and welcome as many people as we can to Crossover,” said Celebration Ministries founder, Al Denson. ”The music is incredible and that alone lifts the spirit, but we’re looking at it even more this year as a ministry event.”
The musical line-up promises to hold true to the Crossover tradition of bringing amazing talent to the Stoneridge stage. The excitement begins Friday, June 13th at 4:30pm when findingBethel opens the show, followed by the Local group Highland Fall, Columbia native Caleb Rowden, then Press Play, comedian Mike Williams, KJ-52, speaker Tim DeTellis, Justin Unger and Matthew West.
FindingBethel gets things started once again on Saturday, June 14th at 3pm. Mission 5:16, This Beautiful Republic, Shonlock, comedian Cleto Rodriguez, Decembradio, speaker Tim DeTellis, Danny Liston, and Big Daddy Weave round out the non-stop performances.
“”All of the performers have songs on the radio now and they’re becoming very well known,” Sullivan said. “It is so exiting to have so many artists perform here who are right on the cusp of a major breakthrough.”
Fans are welcome to join their favorite artists for autographs and photos at their booth in the vendor pavilion. Vendors offering Christian-themed apparel, CDs, jewelry, gift items, Bibles, books and handcrafted keepsakes will be open during the festival. A wide variety of food and beverages will also be available at the venue.
The entire festival is brought to fruition through the sweat equity of dedicated volunteers. Since its inception in 1999, Crossover has relied on legions of volunteers to bring the first-class event to the Lake Area. Nearly 30 team leaders handling all aspects of the event come together to organize everything from marketing and stage production to concessions, hospitality, vendors, volunteers and artists’ needs.
“Crossover amazes me. Each year we put a call out for volunteers and people just show up,” Sullivan said. “God puts together the right team of people and each person functions in their gift that God enables them to use.”
The effort begins with a massive clean up at Stoneridge Amphitheater on June 6 at 9am. Volunteers are needed to help mow, clean, pick up trash; fix plumbing, set-up vendor tents and more. The use of lawn mowers, weed eaters, trash bags and pick-ups are also needed for the day.
With the help of sponsors, volunteers, the Lake Community and divine intervention, Crossover organizers believe thousands more will find faith, friendship and family-fun during this year’s musical ministry.
“This is not about a two-day rock concert,” Denson said. “But an outreach to bring kids and adults to Christ. In this time of uncertainty, what better time to give people real hope and real change in their lives.”
If you would like to volunteer for Crossover contact Caprice Gardenia at t_n_c83@sbcglobal.net. For information about sponsorship opportunities email marketing@crossovermusicfestival.com or call 800-393-2393. A complete schedule and full list of artists, along with vendor and exhibit information can be found at www.crossovermusicfestival.com.
White is among thousands of believers and seekers who have found comfort, strength and renewed joy in life through the music and ministry of Crossover. One of mid-America’s largest Christian music events, the festival takes place June 12th and 13th at Stoneridge Amphitheater in Camdenton. Each day, fans will enjoy seven hours of ministry, worship and soulful music performances.
Conceived by former Convention and Visitors Bureau director, Joel Pottinger, the event was originally intended to be a southern gospel festival. But contemporary Christian music was gaining in popularity and cementing a foothold in the nation’s music scene. Organizers decided on a compromise that resulted in a four-day music festival with artists from both genres performing to more than 3,000 fans each night.
Crossover continued to grow and is now a much anticipated and respected highlight of the Lake Area’s summer activities. Fans and musicians alike, applaud the festival for its uplifting atmosphere and beautiful surroundings.
It is an opportunity to celebrate their faith among beautiful landscape and a wealth of family-friendly activities.
“Although Crossover is a spiritual event that brings together people of all denominations,” said lead volunteer, Alan Sullivan. “It has also been a valuable opportunity for people to come to the Lake of the Ozarks and enjoy everything the Lake has to offer.”
Organizers drastically slashed ticket prices this year in an effort to relieve the stress of families dealing with the burden of unemployment and a tough economy. The cost is only $10 each night at the gate with a $5 parking fee.
“We recognize people are struggling in this economy so we wanted to make the Crossover Festival affordable for all,” Sullivan said. “We felt cutting the price by 70 percent from last years prices would allow more people to attend and still enable us to meet our budget.”
There is no advance or group discounts and even volunteers are paying the full ticket price in order to afford more people the opportunity to attend.
“In these tough economic times we feel its important to reach out and welcome as many people as we can to Crossover,” said Celebration Ministries founder, Al Denson. ”The music is incredible and that alone lifts the spirit, but we’re looking at it even more this year as a ministry event.”
The musical line-up promises to hold true to the Crossover tradition of bringing amazing talent to the Stoneridge stage. The excitement begins Friday, June 13th at 4:30pm when findingBethel opens the show, followed by the Local group Highland Fall, Columbia native Caleb Rowden, then Press Play, comedian Mike Williams, KJ-52, speaker Tim DeTellis, Justin Unger and Matthew West.
FindingBethel gets things started once again on Saturday, June 14th at 3pm. Mission 5:16, This Beautiful Republic, Shonlock, comedian Cleto Rodriguez, Decembradio, speaker Tim DeTellis, Danny Liston, and Big Daddy Weave round out the non-stop performances.
“”All of the performers have songs on the radio now and they’re becoming very well known,” Sullivan said. “It is so exiting to have so many artists perform here who are right on the cusp of a major breakthrough.”
Fans are welcome to join their favorite artists for autographs and photos at their booth in the vendor pavilion. Vendors offering Christian-themed apparel, CDs, jewelry, gift items, Bibles, books and handcrafted keepsakes will be open during the festival. A wide variety of food and beverages will also be available at the venue.
The entire festival is brought to fruition through the sweat equity of dedicated volunteers. Since its inception in 1999, Crossover has relied on legions of volunteers to bring the first-class event to the Lake Area. Nearly 30 team leaders handling all aspects of the event come together to organize everything from marketing and stage production to concessions, hospitality, vendors, volunteers and artists’ needs.
“Crossover amazes me. Each year we put a call out for volunteers and people just show up,” Sullivan said. “God puts together the right team of people and each person functions in their gift that God enables them to use.”
The effort begins with a massive clean up at Stoneridge Amphitheater on June 6 at 9am. Volunteers are needed to help mow, clean, pick up trash; fix plumbing, set-up vendor tents and more. The use of lawn mowers, weed eaters, trash bags and pick-ups are also needed for the day.
With the help of sponsors, volunteers, the Lake Community and divine intervention, Crossover organizers believe thousands more will find faith, friendship and family-fun during this year’s musical ministry.
“This is not about a two-day rock concert,” Denson said. “But an outreach to bring kids and adults to Christ. In this time of uncertainty, what better time to give people real hope and real change in their lives.”
If you would like to volunteer for Crossover contact Caprice Gardenia at t_n_c83@sbcglobal.net. For information about sponsorship opportunities email marketing@crossovermusicfestival.com or call 800-393-2393. A complete schedule and full list of artists, along with vendor and exhibit information can be found at www.crossovermusicfestival.com.
