By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
There are people who talk about wanting change to happen.
There are others who complain when change doesn’t occur.
And then, there is Laura Bice and some other like-minded individuals. They were part of a small group that took action a decade ago to make certain that a change they envisioned took place in Mahomet’s annual fall gathering.
Over time, the Main Street event has morphed from the Fall Festival to the Sangamon River Music Festival to the Mahomet Music Festival.
Bice and her late husband, Don, were interested in promoting a family-type atmosphere during a part of the two-day festival. They lobbied for a stage where Christian music acts could perform, and teamed up with other Mahomet residents, including Theresa Berry, Dave Parsons, Brian Romanowski and Liz Roseman, to make it a reality.
“I felt the Mahomet Festival was like a homecoming for everyone who called Mahomet home,” Laura Bice said.
The group enlisted the assistance of area church leaders, contacted WGBL management and on-air personalities Jeff Scott and Tim Sinclair, and then made one more pitch.
“We went to the Festival Board and asked, ‘Can we try this,’ “ Bice recalled.
They received a green light for a low-budget beginning.
“We modestly started what has become a Christian stage,” Bice said. “We borrowed a platform stage from the high school and as the worship director at Grace (church), I brought a team (to perform).
“I think it’s a very positive thing. A lot of families turn out for that.”
The first year for the Christian acts to perform was 2010. Six area bands took the stage on a Sunday afternoon (“the hottest day of the summer,” Berry said), starting with a group that Bice was involved with from Grace (Road 423).
They were followed by Godsong, Lake of the Woods Praise Band, Pearlblind, Community Free Worship Band and Rezound for an event that lasted about 3 ½ hours.
“You have to start somewhere and there was enough response with local groups (in 2010),” Bice said. “I feel God put the people in place with the relationships I had.”
By 2011, the Christian music entertainment became a part of the Saturday lineup, placed in a mid-day slot, where it has stayed.
“By Year 3,” Bice said, “we got some really good (national) acts.”
Part of the success in attracting national groups was the collaboration with WGBL.
“They put it as part of their summer concert series,” said Parsons, chairman of the Mahomet Music Festival.
Mahomet businessman Russ Taylor has been a financial supporter from the outset, even in the inaugural year when the attendance could be measured in the dozens instead of the hundreds or thousands as was the case in subsequent years.
The growth, Taylor said, is not unexpected.
“It shows the strength of the community,” Taylor said. “The churches gave support and the citizens got behind it and supported it.
“It’s the right focus for people to be thinking about spiritual things first in their life.”
Once the ball got rolling, Bice said the momentum carried it to new heights.
“Russ Taylor, in Year 1, said ‘I’m on board,’ and other churches caught the vision, too,” Bice said. “There were so many (people) who played a part to get it going. There was a lot of buy-in.”
Berry, who is the secretary for the Mahomet Music Festival, is pleased by the acceptance of the Christian music acts.
“We had no idea it would get this big,” she said.
The key, she said, was “bringing in the bigger acts helped in pulling people from the surrounding area.”
In 2012, the Christian music headliner was “Sidewalk Prophets,” a group which featured 2004 Mahomet-Seymour graduate Cal Joslin.
They were followed by “Big Daddy Weave” in 2013 and “Citizen Way” in 2014 before the “Sidewalk Prophets” made an encore appearance in 2015.
“I Am They” performed in 2016, “We Are Messengers” in 2017 and “Carrollton” in 2018.
Grammy-nominated Building 429 has signed on for this August and will take the stage at 11 a.m. on Aug. 24.
“We were looking for a bigger name,” Parsons said. “They may not be the biggest name (in Christian music), but if there is a 1A, 1B and 1C, they are right there. I think this year will be a really good one.”
In addition to the headline act, a second stage has been added this year and will feature four different groups in the afternoon between 1-4 p.m.
“We want a family-friendly environment so people can stick around in the afternoon,” Romanowski said.
Bice, who has lived in Mahomet for 28 years, believes the Christian music portion of the weekend is an important element.
“If this is an event where families come together, it makes sense to have that genre represented,” she said. “Those lyrics need to be shared.
“We’re a faith-based community that receives that kind of music well.”
One aspect of the festival has been unchanged. There is still no charge for admission.
That in itself presents a challenge for organizers.
Parsons estimated that the total costs are approximately “$100,000 for the weekend.”
More than half of that is payout for the various musical groups that are booked to perform. The rest covers expenses ranging for advertising to security to essentials such a porta-pottys.
Romanowski, the pastor at First Baptist Church, and Dave Lutes, the pastor at Lake of the Woods Church, are actively involved with helping to orchestrate the Christian music portion of the Mahomet Music Festival.
While the quality of the national bands has improved, donations to support the performances have not kept pace.
“We’re having trouble getting sponsors,” Romanowski said.
With this year’s event five weeks away, he added, “we’re not close to covering our costs.”
Nothing is in jeopardy for this year, but limited funding could have ramifications in the future.
“Potentially down the road, it could be a problem,” Romanowski said. “The whole festival is sponsored by people. We don’t sell tickets.
“For us, the bands we get are dependent on the amount of money we get.”
Moving forward, Taylor said it’s important to first look back.
“People like Laura, Dave and Brian were keys in getting it done,” he said.
Bice’s husband passed away in 2012. In 2015, she started what she called “a hiatus,” but remains proud of the event.
“To see people watching on the grass, it’s all worth it,” she said. “I have a sense of gratitude for it to be as many years as it has to keep going.
“When you see the yard area filled with people, you know you’re bringing light to the community. It needs to be a staple in everyone’s summer.”
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Persons interested in donating to the festival can contact either Lutes or Romanowski at their respective churches or reach out to committee members such as Berry and Parsons.
To help promote the fundraising, Parsons said a social media campaign will be undertaken soon.
Money, however, is not all that is needed.
“We still need volunteers,” Berry added.
