RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — Hills Alive has been part of the Black Hills for decades but the free Christian music festival almost came to an end.
Last November, LifeLight stepped up to the plate to keep the Hills Alive Christian music festival thriving.
Now this weekend, it is back to help people in the Black Hills continue the traditions of this event.
“As you see the stage behind us going up, it takes a small army of people to pull this off but we are blessed that the community of Rapid City is such a great community that when the call went out for help, people showed up. We still need some more people, but people are rising to the occasion,” LifeLight CEO Josh Brewer said.
“We hear stories from people that have met here and continued their relationship for years and years after their connection at Hills Alive. So I think a lot of people are really excited that it’s back. I think it’s going to be a big weekend and we’re looking forward to what God is going to do,” Hills Alive Director Haley Powell said.
Over two days, more than 40,000 people attend the free festival.
LifeLight is looking to keep a lot of the same traditions that the Hills Alive festival has had since 1998 here in Rapid City. However, they are looking to add some brand new events to reach new audiences and will also be utilizing Main Street Square just up the road.
“We’ve got action sports happening over at Main Street Square with skateboarding and BMX guys doing incredible tricks. We’ve got some music happening on the Main Street Square that targets more of that younger demographic, we’ve got kids areas. So we want to provide something out here for everybody,” Brewer said.
“So the main stage starts at noon both days and goes till ten, but we’ve got the kids’ stuff open earlier in the day and other merchandise and other vendors are open earlier than twelve as well,” Powell said.
This year’s wide variety of artists and activities will make this event stand out and hopefully continue for years to come.
More information on this weekend’s events can be found here.
