Ichthus Music Festival
| Ichthus Music Festival | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Christian music |
| Dates | July 8–11, 2015 |
| Location(s) |
Ichthus Farm Lexington, Kentucky (2015 onward) |
| Years active |
1970–2012; 2015–present |
| Founded by | Bob Lyon |
| Website | |
| ichthusfestival |
|
Ichthus Farm
Wilmore, Kentucky (1970–2012)
1970–2012;
The Ichthus Music Festival was an annual Christian music festival originally held in Wilmore, Kentucky but later moved to Lexington, Kentucky. Begun in 1970, Ichthus was the oldest Christian music festival in the United States. The festival began as the brainchild of Dr. Bob Lyon and a group of seminary students at Asbury Theological Seminary in response to and similar music festivals of that era. The first events were held on the grounds of the Wilmore Campmeeting. In December 2012, the Ichthus Festival Board announced the end of the long-running festival.Creation Festivals took over managing the event in 2013 with plans to resume the festival in 2014. The festival was later postponed to 2015.
Originally an outdoor spring event, the festival was often hampered by poor weather. Beginning in 2006, the festival was moved to mid-June when local weather was more favorable. The festival consisted of six stages: The Main Stage, The Deep End, The Edge, two Indie Stages, and The Galleria Stage. It was a weekend long event, officially starting on Wednesday afternoon and ending on Saturday night. Most Ichthus attendees camped on the festival grounds.
The name of the festival was taken from the word Ichthus (Ichthys), an anagram in Biblical Greek used since the second century by Christians as a symbol of their religion. The word is composed of the letters ἸΧΘΥΣ, meaning fish. The individual letters make up a confessional statement of Christians, "Jesus Christ Son of God, Savior":
Every day of the Ichthus festival a worship service was held at the main stage amphitheater. These services consisted of a worship session with music followed by a keynote speaker. A tent near the back of the worship area was staffed by alter ministers who were available to pray with people after the services.
On the last day of the festival (Saturday) all stages, merchandise tents, and food vendors closed in the afternoon for a massive communion service. Around 20,000 people gathered at the main stage amphitheater for the massive communion service. This service consisted of praise and worship music followed by a keynote speaker and communion.
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Wikipedia