America's premier Christian arts and music festival

Delight kindles in a young woman's heart as the gospel choir lifts up Jesus, higher and higher. A child laughs with pure joy as paint drips from his fingers. A young man kneels in a corner of a tent and cries out for Christ's love as a scholar holds the Word of God in his hands - the truth like diamonds in the hearers' eyes. Cornerstone Festival has begun.

Spoon River Electric Co-operative may supply the electricity for Cornerstone, but for the thousands who attend this annual summer festival God is the true power source.

Held annually for the last 13 years, Jesus People U.S.A. has hosted this Christian rock festival. Beginning in 1984 as a Christian response to Woodstock and other outdoor festivals, Cornerstone has grown tremendously. The attendance has gone from 8,000 the first year to almost 20,000. Cornerstone attendees come from all walks of life, from across the country and around the world. The first festivals were held in Grayslake but in 1991 moved to the Cornerstone Farm, a 575-acre campground with its own 125-acre lake. Some people camp in tents or RVs while others stay with their families in nearby hotels or Western Illinois University dormitories. Festival goers can swim, bike, fish, hike and canoe.

Balance is the key word for the

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festival. People of any age, background or interest have no problem finding ways to fill the time.With nine official venues, each having a character and ambiance of its own—from a big outdoor arena to an intimate cafe— four privately sponsored stages, and over 120 bands, Cornerstone legitimately provides a platform and a rallying point for every type of Christian music. Whether you like pop, or gospel, blues or jazz, folk, swing, alternative rock, ska, or hardcore, you will find a sound suited for you.

The mixture of many activities for all ages makes this an event for the whole family to enjoy. The Imaginarium, an exploration of faith and imagination, features movies, discussions, readings, and a variety of displays. Art Rageous is a celebration of the arts and features a gallery for serious artwork in a variety of themes and mediums, including poetry readings, seminars, workshops, and panel discussions.

A big part of Art Rageous is the children's programs. In a unique hands-on environment, the children are guided in their creative process in the same atmosphere as the older artists. It's a remarkable opportunity for allowing all people the experience of being an artist—not to mention having fun in different way. For the littlest fest-goers there is the Creation Station, Cornerstone's daily program of puppets, songs, and skits designed especially for kids.

A young man raises his hands in reverant worship to God during an impromtu performance by the Insyderz at their campsite.

The more athletic-minded individuals may fill their time with the Summer Games. Featured are tournaments and competitions in three-on-three basketball, five-person volleybal, 5K races, steeplechases, fun runs for the youngest runners, and the adventure challenge course.

If you are the type of person who likes to be intellectually active, Cornerstone features in-depth multisession seminars spread over the five days of the test. The topics range from theological concerns to practical matters of family life, from urban community development to art and faith. There are also workshops for artists, writers, musicians, and the media along with programs for youth groups and their leaders. For over a decade the festival has hosted nationally recognized speakers like John Perkins, Os Guinness, John Whitehead, Luci Shaw, Erwin Lutzer and Raleigh Washington. The classes are small in size and provide an opportunity to give time and attention to individual questions in an unhurried setting.

The diversity of Cornerstone is an ideal resource for youth groups. In every youth group there are teens with a variety of intersts and varying degrees of maturity. Teen seminar topics include such everyday issues as teenage sexuality, getting along with parents, and developing a heart for evangelism. Other challenging workshops cover topics from Christian apologetics and developing a Christian worldview to what foreign missions mean today. Where else would you be able to see and hear concerts by such noted artists as DC Talk, Steve Taylor, REZ, Petra, or Jars of Clay and still sample a large variety of lesser known artists and music styles. Add to all of this the recreational games, the spiritual honesty and intensity of a retreat, and you have the ingredients for a life-impacting experience.

Tips for Festival Goers Things to know before you get there: Hip can look a lot different than you think it should. Your open mind will be tested by some of your fellow Christians. The water is safe, but stinky with sulphur. Everybody drinks bottled water. Wear comfortable shoes. Walking is how you will get everywhere you want to go. Take sunscreen. There will be many opportunities to get burned. Conditions to prepare for: 100° weather Choking dust Blazing sun Feeling dirty Port-a-potties 40° weather Shoe-sucking mud Dark, moonless   nights LOUD music Bring plenty of : Sleep- Always in short supply Cash- Everything is very reasonably priced, it is just that there is so much of it Clothes that can get ruined. A good attitude, and an open mind. Preparation Research the musicians as much as possible. You wouldn't want to miss great music just because your local radio station isn't playing them. Yet. Take as many friends with you as possible. You don't want them to miss an event of a lifetime. Practice looking for Jesus, opportunities to serve Him, and ways to enjoy His company .This is something that you will share with 20.000 other attendees.

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At night your eyes are drawn to the lighted cross across the lake, as you round the comer and come down the hill.

Over the years, Cornerstone Festival has become known as America's premier Christian arts and music festival. It can best be described as an event having the diverse entertainment of an amusement park, the creativity of an art gallery, the recreational capacity of a summer camp, a focused program for young children, the energy and enthusiasm of a college campus, and the ambiance of a small-town street market on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

People come from every state, Canada, Japan, Russia, Norway, Hungary, Switzerland, South Africa, Sweden, Belgium, South Korea, Germany and Mexico. Cornerstone is a labor of love, by and for people who are serious about their personal relationship with Jesus, committed to nurturing a sense of community, passionate about music and the arts, and dedicated to imparting God's love to the culture around them. It is also a place where healing, conversion and recommitment take center stage.

If you would like more specific information about Cornerstone '97, July 3-6, please contact:
Cornerstone Festival
920 W. Wilson Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
(312)989-2087
Tues.-Sat. 9a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Festival energizes community

The small community of Bushnell more than quadruples its size for about a month. When the festival started, Jesus People USA (JPUSA), the festival promoters, invited the town out for a tour to see what it was all about. More people than they expected showed up for the tour.

Vendors serve a wide variety of food-everything from frozen juices and soda, to funnel cakes and ostrich burgers.

During the first part of June people arrive and begin preparing for Cornerstone. Hardware stores, lumber yards, service stations and restaurants experience a steady increase in business as the time grows closer. During the festival, many fast food restaurants bring in extra employees and supplies from nearby towns to meet the demand.

Hy-Vee, one of the local grocery stores, supplies a tent on the festival site with food, beverages, personal items and hardware. The store acts as a middle man for JPUSA. Orders start being faxed June 1 for supply people and vendors. It takes four or five days to set up the tent and one day to take it down. Merchandise begins selling out of the boxes right away.

Sandy Snow, a store employee, said last year five pallets stacked with product from her department alone were brought to the site. At the end of the festival the returned products filled only eight tote bags.

Water is hauled to the site by the pallet and ice by the semi-load. Last year on the final day of the festival they ran out of ice.The store is manned from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. "It is hard to schedule employees for inside the store because everyone looks forward to working at Cornerstone every year," said Stone.

In an article in The Register-Mail, Bushnell Mayor Jack Promission stressed that the town has never run into problems with the festival-goers. "They've just been super people. They may look different, but I can't overstate how cordial and well-behaved they are. We don't beef up the police or do anything extra. I talked to the police chief about it, and he said he's only given two speeding tickets since the festival started."

Every one in Fulton County knows about the festival. There have been very few complaints from neighboring farmers since the festival started over a decade ago. County residents are amazed that people come from all over the United States and overseas to vacation in their county.

Mark Balbinot, system engineer at Spoon River Electric Co-operative, said the people at JPUSA were super nice and easy to work with. The first year of the festival nobody anticipated the attendance to be at the 8,000 mark and the additional electrical demands.

Vendors serve a wide variety of food-everything from frozen juices and soda, to funnel cakes and ostritch burgers. caught the co-op by surprise. To meet the energy demands of the festival, the co-op installed a beefed-up electrical system to service the entire festival site.

The Cornerstone farm is at the end of the line and the cooperative had people out there round-the-clock to help with the extra load. When the festival is runing at full tilt, it can add about 2kw to the electrical load.

Since then, the co-op has added a few services to help balance things out. This year they are installing a new and larger pump to help solve a lot of the water problems. About a week before the festival begins, the co-op sends out a team to check the connections and hardware.

Everyone working together helps to make Cornerstone a success. That is what cooperatives are all about.

-Story and photos by Cheryl Howard

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