[img_assist|nid=1690|title=Pillar|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=196|height=134]So, obviously, I'm not the world's best blogger. Keeping up with a daily habit, unless it's brushing my teeth and showering, isn't easy for this queen of ADD. And though I had all good intentions of blogging each day from Creation East (which ended like...three months ago), weak internet signals, 16 hour days, and keeping up with 12 teens kind of got in the way. Add to that craziness my volunteer assignment to photo-document as much of the festival as humanly possible AND turn in staff images (edited and tagged) before I left the festival grounds. All of that meant that blogging drifted down to the bottom of the priority list.
Yes, long overdue, but hopefully worth your time is my next (and last) entry into my "Creation Blog". Days two- five, documented here for your reading pleasure.
Without a doubt, Creation East is a massive undertaking that requires a year's worth of planning by a permanent staff and tons of man power provided by nearly 2000 volunteers. With two stages, three natural ampitheaters, and tons of great speakers and artists, Creation East continues to lead the way during festival season. I was privileged to be a part of it again this year. And although the festival did end the last week in June I still have plenty of memories in vivid recall. [img_assist|nid=1691|title=Hawk Nelson|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=177|height=177]
Each day, as I walked from campsite to Fringe Stage, to Main Stage, up to the look out (more than once this year!) through the 80,000 + visitors, and back to my campsite, I was continually struck by the fact that Creation is more than just a music festival. There's no doubt that bands like Third Day, Relient K, and David Crowder draw a crowd, but many times I felt that the main draw was the atmosphere of the festival itself. It does indeed feel like a celebration, "A tribute to our Creator", as the banner on the mainstage so boldly proclaims. It felt as if I were part of something larger than myself, but that in all the expressions of humanity at Creationfest, I still mattered. In many ways, whether I was shooting from the photo pit, dancing, singing along, or watching 400 baptisms that occurred at the end of the week, I felt I was in an attitude of worship.
I watched volunteers do jobs that ranged from medical care to "comfort facilities" upkeep, listened to a testimony from Randy Armstrong (RED) about how he received Christ at Creation when he was just thirteen, saw crowds go crazy for Hawk Nelson, and had moments of levity sitting around my own campfire with people I love dearly. Through all of those experiences there was a sense of comfort, peace, joy, spirit. Creation is more than just the music, it's more than just the popular band of the day, it's even more than[img_assist|nid=1430|title=Candlelighting|desc=Candlelighting- an annual Creation Fest highligh|link=none|align=left|width=149|height=218] seeing MY favorite band perform (which didn't happen this year...Switchfoot had Bro-Am scheduled for the same week). It's about serving, being, celebrating, worshipping, watching and growing.
I know my blog is a bit introspective, and if you were looking for answers to questions like "How many times did Soul Glo do the worm onstage?", I'm sorry to disappoint. Maybe next year I can answer those burning questions with greater accuracy, especially if I stick to the "blog a day" plan. And maybe it's just that time removed from the event has given me a better perspective...time to process the experience. At any rate, I'll return next year. I'll blog better, shoot more, live more. And I'll love Creation 2010 probably more than Creation 2009. Unless Creation 2010 falls during Bro-Am....then all bets are off.
To see all my pix from Creation 2009, click on the link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susieq3c/collections/72157620972330786/