Heaven And Hell

A large Christian music festival called Heaven Fest may move to Longmont, Colo., this summer but it has some locals fearing crowds, cars and dust will create a hell on Earth.

Organizers expect Heaven Fest to draw 30,000 fans with some 70 Christian music artists on seven stages, food and merch booths, skateboarders, comedy acts and an art gallery.

Anticipating double the crowd of last year’s event, the Worship and the Word Movement has received preliminary approval for a public use permit at Union Reservoir, a much larger open space than Heaven Fest’s previous site in the town, located about 35 miles north of Denver.

Some residents oppose the plan to hold the concerts at the reservoir, citing crowds, pollution and potential environmental damage.
“I find all of this very distressing,” resident Judy Lubow told the Denver Post. “Heaven Fest promoters want to use this or adjoining open space land for campers, RVs, massive parking, seven stages, multiple events and numerous vendors. They want this ecosystem to be subjected to a deluge of people in a two-day period,” she said.

Organizers have pledged to restore any damage to the land from the festival. In addition, it’s expected Heaven Fest could pump as much as $700,000 into the local economy in addition to the money raised for various humanitarian organizations, including a Honduran orphanage and a homelessness project of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s.

“Last year, out of what we made, we gave about $50,000 to orphans,” Heaven Fest Executive Director Luke Bodley told the Post. “Sure we want people to have a good ol’ time. But they also are giving to orphans, which is a much larger purpose.”