Welcome to the Kingdom Bound Insider Podcast

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Sa welcome everybody, to the podcast today. I am Kevin Neville. I am your host today. And I have today with me Mike Wing and Donna Russo from Kingdom Bound Ministries. Welcome, guys. [00:00:43] Speaker B: Thank you so much. [00:00:44] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:00:44] Speaker A: All right, Donna, you are the executive director. [00:00:47] Speaker C: Yes, I am. [00:00:47] Speaker A: Kingdom Bound. What's that like? What do you do there? What do your duties include? [00:00:51] Speaker C: It's something different every day, to be honest. You know, I think there's. There are some set things we have to work on all the time. But I started a long, long time ago and have had an opportunity to do many jobs in the ministry. So I've had my hand in a lot of stuff over these 38 years. [00:01:08] Speaker B: 38 years. [00:01:10] Speaker C: So, you know, so no two days are the same, but, you know, it's a lot of planning goes into the festival and the other activities that the ministry's involved in. So it's a very, very rewarding position and very interesting all the time. [00:01:24] Speaker A: And we're gonna find later on that Kingdom Bound is more than just the festival. You guys are pretty much year round and we're gonna dive into that in a bit. But first of all, Mike, I want introduce yourself. You are the director of Experience. [00:01:37] Speaker B: Yes. [00:01:37] Speaker A: Which sounds like. That just sounds fun. I want that title, Director of Experience. What does that mean? [00:01:43] Speaker B: They gave me a title that's so generic that basically anything they tell me to do, I have to do. Donna was really good. [00:01:50] Speaker C: Does it. [00:01:50] Speaker A: Well, I get that at work. They just changed my title, the communications manager. [00:01:56] Speaker B: Basically. [00:01:56] Speaker A: They could throw any job they want at me. Exactly. [00:01:59] Speaker B: No, you know what it means that I kind of am in charge of making sure that the experience of our customer in whatever we do is going to be a positive one. So I help with some of the events and the activities that we do at the festival. I work a lot with the sponsors and the vendors and making sure that they're all set and making sure that they're feel. Feeling connected, feeling a part of the. Of the festival, you know, making sure that we're helping them the way that we promised to help them during the festival. And. And then I work with a little bit of the seminars as well and planning the seminars and making sure those are going smoothly. And so that's kind of. Those are. Those are some of the big things. And then one thing I do that's really fun is I get to be in charge of the late night activities. [00:02:43] Speaker A: The late night activities. Oh, and we're definitely going to be talking about. About some of those. [00:02:47] Speaker B: Yeah, we have some really fun stuff planned this Year. [00:02:49] Speaker A: I can't wait. I can't wait. And I gotta say, you know, because Kingdom Bound, you know, know of, of. Of everything that it is. It's the experience that, that, you know, we remember years later. [00:03:01] Speaker B: You know, I say that my job is to make sure that when people are driving home, they're talking about something other than what happened on the main stage. Like if, if someone's talking about the dance party they went to or the experience they had in the marketplace or connecting with a college. Like, my goal is to outshine the main stage. So that's what I. That's what I try to do with. [00:03:24] Speaker A: My job and with the names of the different, you know, bands and artists you have. That. That's a big job. [00:03:29] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a challenge, but that's. It's a challenge I relish. [00:03:32] Speaker A: I like, I love it. We're going to hear some of these things you were doing this year. But first of all, for those who don't know, how do they get a horde of information on Kingdom Bound? And more importantly, when is Kingdom Bound? [00:03:49] Speaker C: So Kingdom bound takes place July 28th through the 30th at Six Flags Darien Lake. If you are an on grounds guest, arrival is July 27th on Sunday. So when you look at advertising and you see the actual dates for the event, 28th to the 30th. But the Sunday the 27th is when you'll be checking in if you're staying on grounds. [00:04:09] Speaker A: You know, we talked about Kingdom Bound Ministries being more than the festival, but for those that don't even know what the festival is, it's about to rock the award. So tell us, what is Kingdom Bound? [00:04:21] Speaker C: It's pretty amazing. Sometimes I still meet people on a weekly basis who will say, oh, I've never been. Maybe I've heard about it. Or somebody will say, I've never heard about it. Kingdom Bound's been going on since 1987 as a Christian music festival at Darien Lake. And Darien Lake has. The theme park has changed names over the years. And so currently it is Six Flags Darien Lake theme park. They have hosted us for all of these years back since 1987. And we've gone through many changes, many different stages, names, you know, different activities, different programs. But predominantly the festival exists to present the gospel through the performing arts. And so that includes music and a wide variety of different presentations, teaching the ministry. The festival is very strong in teaching and the presentation of the gospel in all different ways throughout those three and a half days. And then add in that you are in an amusement park and you can camp and so that you. You have the best of all worlds. And if you aren't a tent camper, we have, you know, you can be in a cabin or you could stay in the hotel. Like, there's a wide variety where we say, you know, there's something for everyone. Years and years and years ago, one of our bylines was, whether you're 4 or 84, you will find something to be able to do at Kingdom Bound. And that's true. I think that the festival is design to meet the needs of the family, to meet the needs of singles, individuals. People who are coming from all different walks of life can find something that ministers to them throughout those days. [00:05:52] Speaker A: And that's really amazing. But I gotta say, you know, I'm bringing my family this year. I'm very excited. But growing up since 1987, and I missed the first year, but I was there the second. 1988 was my very first one. [00:06:07] Speaker C: It was nice and warm then. [00:06:09] Speaker A: 87 was snow. [00:06:10] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, we had snowflakes. It was like in the mid-30s, 30s, low, upper-30s, low-40s was the temperature because it was in October. First weekend should have been nice Indian summer. And instead we had sleet and freezing rain and a little bit of snowflakes. Yeah, so. [00:06:24] Speaker A: So you quickly moved it right to the summer. And we did. It's been there ever since. [00:06:28] Speaker C: Then next year we actually should have moved into September. [00:06:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:32] Speaker C: But Billy Graham was coming to Buffalo, and even the. Even the staff at Darien Lake knew they couldn't compete with Billy Graham. So we wound up at the last week in August, and then we stayed there for 15. [00:06:42] Speaker A: And as a teenager, that was perfect. You know, you said you hit the nail on the head. You had the concert, you had the teachings, you had the amusement park. You could stay up late right now, I imagine in all those years, you know, you guys have been around almost all my life. You have. You must have tried so many new things, so many different things to keep it fresh, to keep the experience going. Some of those things you must have loved. Some of those things probably didn't work out so well, but I imagine that's always a challenge. What is? Some things that you guys are doing new this year. [00:07:17] Speaker B: Okay, before we get into that, I want to hear from Donna. One of the craziest things you guys tried that you don't do anymore. [00:07:24] Speaker A: Hmm. [00:07:26] Speaker C: I would say it's probably not for lack of trying or, you know, I think the kind of interest waned off, but for several years we did a singles cafe and we brought in. I don't know if anybody remembers the band. Christopher. [00:07:40] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, I do. [00:07:41] Speaker C: And so they, you know, they were, they came in and we decorated the whole place and, and we had a really great time. We loved it. But I think, I don't know if it was. I think we stopped doing it because interest kind of waned off after a while. So I don't know if that was one of the craziest things what we ever did. I thought you were gonna ask, like, what's one of the craziest experiences we've had, like at the. Oh, here's another great thing. If anybody remembers we, we had the Christian Wrestling Federation. So we set a wrestling ring up right in the middle of the. [00:08:07] Speaker A: Really. [00:08:08] Speaker C: Oh, right in the middle of the midway. And I think maybe one of the craziest things that we did about that was one of the local network morning news programs wanted to come and cover this because they'd never heard of Christian wrestlers. And so they came out and we had to be meet them at five o' clock in the morning to do the morning program. So we had to get the rest of the 5am and they wrestled one of the guys from the radio station. They got him into one of the outfits and they wrestled him in the ring. And, and so what they would do is they, they'd have them wrestling match and you know, all, all the normal hoopla you would expect, and then they'd stop and they'd present the gospel to everybody within earshot. And the whole park's open to the public, everybody's there. They're all being drawn in by the wrestling. And it was very good, very. It was quite effective. [00:08:50] Speaker A: Body slamming for Jesus. Yes, that's, that's pretty. Please tell me you're going to do. [00:08:53] Speaker B: That again this year. [00:08:55] Speaker C: Maybe, I don't know, not this year, but maybe the wrestlers will become, will come back someday. [00:08:59] Speaker B: Oh, that's when we had the, the BMX people. Skateboarders. That was one of my favorite. [00:09:04] Speaker A: Oh, really? [00:09:04] Speaker B: Right in the middle of the park. We put up this big portable BMX ramps and skateboarding ramps and stuff. And they would come and do these big flips and, and all sorts of crazy stuff on bikes and skateboards and then that. And they would present the gospel. [00:09:18] Speaker A: That sounds a lot of fun. We'll have to talk. I know some local skateboarders and Christian ministries. Maybe that would be fun to see. [00:09:24] Speaker B: Yeah, but. [00:09:25] Speaker A: Okay, so then what is new this year then? [00:09:28] Speaker B: I think one of the things I'm looking forward to the most this year because when people think about Kingdom Bound, who know about it, they think about music. But our mission statement is the gospel through the arts with an S. And so one of the things I love the idea of is incorporating other arts into what we're doing. And so I think the theater camp that you can talk a little bit about is something new that I'm really looking forward. [00:09:53] Speaker A: And that's going to happen. Right. Join the festival itself. Tell us a little bit about that. [00:09:57] Speaker C: So that's going to be. It's. It's called the Kids Family or I'm sorry, kids theater class. And that's being presented to us by Family Life Network. They do this regularly with kids during the summer. And so for kids that are 8 to 15 years old can register and they'll have a chance. It's a two hour class each day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and they'll have a chance to either learn improv, comedy, acting, singing, dancing. At the end of that, each day they're going to get to perform something so their parents and friends are invited to come back. At the end of it, you know, 15 or 20 minutes, they'll get a presentation of something that they put together during that time frame. And so I love this because it encourages the kids, like the kids who come to the festival a lot. Some are into the music, big into the music, almost everyone is into the rides and some are into different other activities. And we've never really been able to offer something for the kids who might be interested in drama or in theater. So I'm really excited that we're going to be able to do that this year. [00:10:58] Speaker A: This is fascinating to me because, you know, parents are looking for camps in the summer, especially theater kids, you know, and then this is something they could have right in everything else, right in. [00:11:08] Speaker C: The heart of the day. [00:11:09] Speaker B: I'm hoping that it really takes off and it's something that we can kind of grow our relationship with Family Life Network and what they do. Remind me again how you sign up for those. [00:11:18] Speaker C: You go to the Family Life Network, Facebook or I'm sorry, their website. And on their website they have all the kids theater camps and Kingdom Bound is one of the choices. And so then you sign up there and it's, it's limited, I believe There are only 40 spots each day. So it. And it's open to, like I said, all the kids ages 8 to 15. [00:11:36] Speaker A: Okay. So each, each event is one day long and you just sign up for the. [00:11:41] Speaker C: They can sign up for all three days if they want. But you know, they can pick one for a day. [00:11:45] Speaker A: Yeah. Cool. [00:11:46] Speaker B: Another thing that I'm looking forward to, one of the things I think is best about Kingdom Bound is the relationships that are built, the friendships that are built. I feel like Kingdom Bound is a big family reunion that you come back every year and you see people you haven't seen for a year. And I always tell people I feel like it's the closest thing to heaven that we'll experience on earth. Like living together, worshiping together in the presence of God, and roller coasters. There will not be roller coasters in my heaven. Oh, there will be the scrambler, but not. But yeah, like, so we want to try to foster those connections and building relationships. And so we took a look at our seminars and we said, like, how can we take our seminars and change them a little bit, but also add in the element of community, growing together, learning together, connecting. And so we came up with the concept of community groups. And they're really just. We want people to come together at the same time every day for this in the seminar slot. So It'll be either 1 o' clock or 3 o', clock, Monday, Wednesday. And we have three different people that three different groups that we're trying to start this year. One group is going to be centered on evangelism. So we're looking for people who want to learn about evangelism but want to do it in the context of community and connecting. And so every day we're going to have a class on evangelism taught by. I am second. And so they're going to come together and we're hoping that there's like a core group of people. You know, there might be some new people each day that want to check it out, but we're hoping that there's a core group of people who say, yeah, I want to learn how to evangelize. And IM second is going to give some really great tips. I've seen what they're going to do. They're going to give us some really great training. And each day it's going to kind of build on each other. So Monday we'll go, and then Tuesday we'll build off. Monday and Wednesday we'll kind of wrap the whole thing up. But then even after the festival, we've set it up with. I am second to have ongoing training. So a couple times throughout the year, this group of people, along with anyone else who wants to join throughout the year, will have a chance to like, get together through Zoom. Or we might have an in person meeting, you know, an in person training. But we really want to. We really want people to come together, build relationships, build community, get to know one another, but also learn together and grow together. So there'll be one. On evangelism, we're working with Mike Gordon. He wants to connect. Mike. If you don't know Mike Gordon, he's a youth speaker who travels all over the United States and Canada. And he has a huge heart for young people and he's phenomenal. He's been coming to the festival for a long time. He's got such a servant's heart and he loves Kingdom Bound. And he wants to connect with young people who are kind of trying to figure out their calling, their purpose in life. [00:14:43] Speaker A: I love that. [00:14:44] Speaker B: And so he wants to start like a relationship, a connection with young people who are looking to find purpose. And he's going to kind of talk about that throughout the festival. And he told me he's going to set up times where, you know, people can meet him at the concerts and just hang out with him or in different places throughout the festival and hang out with him. And he just wants to build relationships with young people and kind of help them through that journey. You know how it is when you're young. You know, a lot of people don't have a clue what they want to. [00:15:13] Speaker A: Do, and they know they want to do something for the Lord. But where do we start? How do I get the skills? Who do I do it with? Right. [00:15:20] Speaker B: And what better way to do that than with a group of people who are kind of all in the same boat. There's going to be another community group based on exploring, like just diving into the Bible theology with Craig McClure. He's been coming for years and people love his teaching. And so again, just a community. A group of people who want community. A group of people who want connection, relationship, learning together, growing together and diving into the Bible together. [00:15:48] Speaker A: Sounds like you guys are going to have church up in that place. But that's sort of the beauty of it. Just because now it's as people from many different churches and many denominations, but it's the same community, small group. You know, you're getting to know some of these guys and I love that you continue in and on past the festival. [00:16:04] Speaker B: Yeah. So yeah, those community groups will happen each day kind of in the seminar pavilion. And then in the seminar pavilion we have some. A new guest in our seminar pavilion every day. Wdc. [00:16:16] Speaker C: Oh, yes, we do. WDC is going to be joining Us for the live broadcast. And for those of you who've been following along, they've been broadcasting live for many, many years. And so they're gonna be joining us there. And so they'll also participate in the seminar. So each day they'll have someone featured in the part of their. As part of their broadcast doing a seminar. And so that is always interesting. It's always a great draw. And then they do live broadcasts where everybody, studio audience can come in and interact and talk to Neil and be live on the radio. They bring in guests, you know, the artists come in, they show up and they'll speak for a few minutes and sometimes somebody even will pull out their guitar and sing a song and they do a really nice job. They have a nice crow and it goes well. [00:16:58] Speaker A: So that was a question I was going to ask later on, but you kind of answered it. As somebody that grew up in southern Ontario, you know, WDCX was the only Christian music I get. I would go to sleep listening to the music. In fact, that's where I first heard about Kingdom Bound. And I was going to ask you if they're still connected. So they've been connected with you guys for all these years? [00:17:19] Speaker C: All these years. In the beginning, those early years when Fred Caserta, who was our founder, was still alive, he nicknamed Neil Bourne Promo the Robot. I don't know if you ever remember watching Promo the Robot but like as a kid from the my generation, yeah, Promo the Robot was featured on the local, one of the local affiliates and he would, you know, he'd be the one that came out and did all the announcements. But Neil was and still is so enmeshed in the things that were going on at Kingdom Mound. He would talk about Kingdom on non stop. And so yeah, Fred had dubbed him that name many, many years ago. And here we are all these years later and WDCX is still talking about Kingdom Mountain Activ. [00:17:56] Speaker A: You know, that's amazing. And I love that they're going to be doing live shows that you could actually be part of or see. [00:18:01] Speaker C: Oh yes, for sure. [00:18:02] Speaker A: That's exciting. Anything else new or what? What about new or what do you guys might have coming back that you haven't had for a while? [00:18:13] Speaker B: One thing that's actually new is it's kind of exciting where our footprint at the amphitheater is expanding. We've had so much success with people who want to partner with Kingdom Bound and sponsors and like people like Eight Days of Hope, Operation Christmas Child. We got connected with a bookstore called Mardell that's out of Oklahoma City. [00:18:38] Speaker C: Houghton University. [00:18:38] Speaker B: Houghton University is our main one. And. And then we have a couple other sponsors and vendors that. That are going to be in the amphitheater area, the main stage area. That's what we call the amphitheater. And so we've kind of had to expand our footprint. It's a really good problem to have. And so we. We created something this year called the Amped Market. And we're really excited about the Amped Market because what it is, is there's. There's the side of the venue that you enter in that's called the North Concourse, and then there's the opposite side that we've never been in before. We've never had to go into. We've never had to spill into, because we just didn't need the room. Thankfully, this year, we need the room that's called the South Concourse. And so it's kind of off to the side of the stage. So we're gonna have to educate people on how to get there. But all of our merchandise will be over there. And we have an amazing partnership with the Teacher's Desk. Have you ever heard of the teacher's Desk? [00:19:36] Speaker A: I have not. What do they do? [00:19:38] Speaker C: So the Teacher's Desk is a resource store that provides school supplies for teachers who teach in. In school systems that are in need. Everything is free to the teachers, so when they come in to shop, on average, they get a thousand dollars worth of school supplies. They walk out the door with them with a God bless you and enjoy and bless your kids. And so the director has been a part of Kingdom Mountain for years. He was our children's director for years. He was our sponsored director in past years, but he's been directing the Teacher's desk now for about 12 years. And so we partner with them, and Kingdom island becomes one of their major fundraising efforts throughout the year. So it blesses our people because they provide food, which normally there are no concessions open in that amphitheater during the festival, but they provide food at a really great price. And it's a benefit for the organization. [00:20:29] Speaker A: You guys are speaking to my heart. They were married to a teacher for so many almost 30 years. We spent thousands of our own dollars on supplies. So something like that. [00:20:39] Speaker B: Your wife could go. Literally go. And Donna works there every Saturday. She serves there every week. And I believe you're on the board, right? [00:20:45] Speaker C: I am. [00:20:45] Speaker B: And so your wife could go to the teacher's desk and literally grab a shopping cart and fill her shopping cart. [00:20:52] Speaker C: With all the things that she would need. [00:20:54] Speaker B: Yeah, all the schools. [00:20:55] Speaker A: We're definitely, we're going to spread the word about that, but also spread the word about how, you know, the fundraisers are going to go and the support for them. [00:21:01] Speaker B: So they're kind of our staple in the amped market on the south concourse. And they're going to be selling all kinds of really like they get Chick Fil A food, Chick fil A sandwiches, they get Domino's pizza, they get popcorn, drinks, all sorts of goodies and snacks and they can sell them at a reduced rate. But. And, but it really helps them raise funds for their organization and it also helps us because now our customers, you know, a family to feed a family at an amusement park these days isn't cheap. But you know, the teacher's desk makes it affordable. And so they'll be in the, in the amped market on the south concourse. And all of our artist merchandise will be over there. All the KB merchandise will be over there. And so it's kind of exciting that you know that the whole concept of expanding your tent pegs. Right. [00:21:47] Speaker A: And you can't have a Christian event without Chick Fil a large chicken you're talking about. I'm married to a girl from Louisiana. So, you know, in the South. That's right. Church happens. [00:21:58] Speaker B: Yeah. So look for the amped market in the south concourse because that's where you'll find all the good food and you'll find all of the merchandise that you're normally looking for in the north concourse. [00:22:07] Speaker A: And that's new this year. You guys are just slowly taking over every corner. [00:22:11] Speaker B: We're trying, we're trying to take over as much as we can there. [00:22:13] Speaker A: Yeah, well, that's, that's, that's going to be so much fun. Now speaking about having church, you know, we know that Kingdom Mound, you know, you guys have expressed that it's so much more than a music festival. But in what ways? What other ways? Are you really looking to keep it both Christ centric and also people focus? You mentioned some of the community groups, but I know you guys do some other things that are really popular at the festival. [00:22:42] Speaker C: So I would say that. [00:22:44] Speaker A: Well, at the festival and beyond, because you were saying, you know, you guys are more than just a. [00:22:47] Speaker C: So I'll say that first. So Kingdom Mound is more than the festival. For those three days, four days that we're at the park, we're a 12 month ministry. So we go on, you know, year round. And I always tell people it's about a nine month process to plan the Festival from start to finish, booking the artists, taking care of the accommodations, looking at the production and the marketing, all the different aspects of the event, but within that time frame. Not just there, not just then. What we. Kingdom has done historically over the. Over these years is concerts. [00:23:22] Speaker B: So. [00:23:22] Speaker C: So we work really hard during the year to bring concerts into the marketplace in Buffalo, in Rochester, we go to Syracuse. We've been in Erie keeping the music. Whether it's an artist who's coming to Kingdom Mound or has been to Kingdom Mound, someone who's touring in the area, we like to link arms and partner with those artists and bring them in. We've done that consistently over all these years. Sometimes six, seven, eight concerts a year. Sometimes it's two. It depends on who's touring. We've also had the opportunity to be involved in a variety of different events throughout the years. For some people who will remember through our history. For about eight years, we did an event called the Christian Musician Summit, which was a teaching and training event that was on the west coast, that was brought over to the west coast or to the east coast over by Rick Kuo, who was then our president. And he was involved, had always been a presenter at the CMS conference. And so he brought it over to Western New York. And so we ran that event for a number of years. There'd be, you know, a drum clinic, there'd be a songwriting clinic. There'd be a wide variety. I'm not even touching all of the topics and things that went on on a Friday and Saturday. So we did that for many years. We've done events for single parents. We've had Men's Fellowship events. Most recently, this past May, we were involved in a conference with another one of our board members, Hold Vaughn, called the Future Church Conference, which was a theology and teaching conference where we call people and say it's an apologetics conference. Now, unless you went to Bible school. [00:24:50] Speaker A: They'Ll look at you with what's apologetic? What are you apologizing for? Right. [00:24:53] Speaker C: I'm gonna learn how to read and apply the Bible to our lives. And that's really what it was all about. It was a really great event. And so, you know, so we've had an opportunity to partner with other ministries and organizations or in the perspective of concerts, to partner with the artists and be able to expand the territory of music, Christian music, the gospel, being presented at all of these events in various forms and different ways to reach people. [00:25:17] Speaker A: It's amazing. It's hard to keep up that you guys are just really have Something. You said it, you know, from 8 to 87 or even younger and older. You know, there's really something for every. Every, you know, interest and. And taste. And I'm glad Rick. Whoa. Was such a. I still have my I Can I Will T shirt. It doesn't fit anymore. [00:25:36] Speaker C: But Rick is going to be back at the festival this year. He has been. [00:25:39] Speaker A: I'm excited to hear that few years. [00:25:41] Speaker C: So the Blues Council will be playing this year. [00:25:43] Speaker A: Oh, that's wonderful. [00:25:44] Speaker B: So tell them why, though. It's really neat. [00:25:46] Speaker C: So rick is celebrating 40 years of music ministry. [00:25:49] Speaker A: Amazing. [00:25:50] Speaker C: And so he, you know, he would never ask. He would never say that. He's very humble. But what I know this. And so I said, I think it's time we bring the whole band back together. And the last two times that the Blues council played Kingdom Mountain, Will McFarlane was not able to be with us. He had other commitments. But Will's got a schedule cleared this year, so there's a lot of blues guitar players out there who they just love how Will plays. [00:26:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:13] Speaker C: And so it'll be a really great time. [00:26:15] Speaker A: I'm looking forward to that so much. [00:26:17] Speaker B: We should get Rick when you do your podcast. [00:26:19] Speaker A: Oh, I'm telling you, I'm gonna. I'm gonna f. A little bit, you know, because, you know, there was a good time, so good, good concerts. But speaking about all that, you know, I love that you guys are expressing the gospel through art form. That seems to be a real important focus for you guys. How is that being expressed this year? I mean, you mentioned a few things. You mentioned the theater camp. [00:26:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:44] Speaker C: Well, one thing I was going to say when you asked this question before, Kevin, was you asked, what's something that we're bringing back this year? And thanks to Mike's research and digging and finding, we're going to bring art classes back. We had art classes years and years ago. We had painting. We had drawing. And so I want to let Mike talk a little bit about Stephanie and her studio and what she's going to be bringing to the festival. [00:27:07] Speaker B: Yeah. So I went to Elam Bible College with Stephanie Russell. [00:27:10] Speaker A: I've heard. I've heard about that. [00:27:12] Speaker B: She has a studio cafe in Warsaw, New York. [00:27:16] Speaker A: Really? [00:27:17] Speaker B: And in this cafe, she does all kinds of different art classes. And so I knew she was doing these things. And art classes are always something that we. Art, you know, we love to do and people love to do. The make Kingdom Bound, they always sell out super fast. And so this year we scoured around and looked around and Then I remembered Stephanie had this studio cafe. And so we are super excited that we're going to have three days of art classes. The first one is going to be a ceramic mug. So Stephanie's going to fire some mugs, and then people can paint them, and then she'll take them back and complete them. She'll fire them again and complete them, and then she'll get them back to you after you paint them. So that'll be Monday. On Tuesday. It's really neat. I've never seen a class before like this, but it's watercolor greeting cards. And so she's going to teach people how to paint their own personalized watercolor. [00:28:14] Speaker A: And they get to keep these at the end, and they get to keep them. [00:28:17] Speaker C: Amazing. [00:28:17] Speaker B: And they get to write down all these nice notes about how much they liked the festival. [00:28:22] Speaker A: Hopefully you guys will get some of those. [00:28:25] Speaker B: And then Wednesday will be a canvas painting. I believe it'll be some kind of scripture that Stephanie's working on. Okay. [00:28:31] Speaker A: And, and, and how do they sign up for these? How do they. [00:28:34] Speaker B: So each day will be $40, and then if they sign up for all three days, it's a hundred. [00:28:39] Speaker A: And that includes the supplies and we get to bring home. [00:28:42] Speaker B: Yep. That includes everything that you need to take the class. And people might just want to wear, you know, some kind of clothes that they don't mind getting paint on or dirty a little bit. But they can go to our website under Festival Experience and the tickets, and it's actually right on our website under the upgrade section in our website under Festival Experience. It'll. You'll see it, art classes. And then there'll be a little button that says book now. And. And they can just click on that and they can sign up for them. But those usually, Those usually sell out really fast. So if you're listening to this, I would really encourage you to go to the website and sign up for those as soon as you can, because there's only 30 spots available, so. [00:29:17] Speaker A: Okay. And so they're gonna go fast, I imagine, so they can be filled out. And of course, you know, one of my favorite art forms, obviously, is storytelling and podcasts. Now, you guys started doing podcasts last year. How did that go? And what are your plans? Yeah, forward. [00:29:35] Speaker B: You got a call from Jill, Kelly. [00:29:37] Speaker C: And Aaron daughter, because they've been involved in a podcast. I don't know if anybody has caught it, but Jill and Aaron have been doing a podcast for the. Probably the last year and a half or two years. And so I called Jill it had been a few years since Jill had been at the festival speaking, and I said, would you bring the podcast and do it live? And so she and Aaron spoke and talked about it, and it was very interesting because she agreed and said yes. And then the week leading up to the festival, they had a tragedy in their family. Aaron's husband's. One of his relatives passed away, and so we all were as well, and we thought, well, Jill might be speaking by herself, and we may not have a podcast because we're not sure what's going to happen. But the funeral arrangements weren't until later in the week. So Jill and Aaron came. And Jill contacted me after the festival and said, to be honest, it was one of the greatest things for Aaron because took her mind into a different place, really ministered to her and prepared her what for what she was going to be facing the rest of the week. And so the response was overwhelming. People, you know, they, of course, Jill always has a great draw anyways, but the interaction. Aaron has spent a lot of time in the podcast tackling mental health issues, and it's been very, very good, very well received. She's a young lady, and so, you know, to have her speak. A lot of times when we have someone come in and they're speaking on mental health issues, it's an older person who. Who's had a lot of life experience, and that's understandable. But she really speaks from the heart, and she did a really great job. [00:31:07] Speaker A: I love that. And that. That's one of the reasons I love it, is that it's more than just a lecture. It's more than just sharing wealth. It's the conversations we have, and it's something we could all sort of be part of. Whether you're listening or. And doing it live, you get to see them. It's a. It's a different level of experience. [00:31:25] Speaker B: Kingdom Bound, the festival, the ministry, it always generates, it always births such great stories and testimonies. We just got a really cool email from someone who had gone to the festival as a kid. His mom took him, and his mom passed away recently, and he was going through her stuff, and he found this keepsake box. And in the keepsake box, it had her diary. And just to reconnect with her, he started reading through the diary, but there was a whole page in this journal in this diary about this woman's amazing experience at Kingdom Bound and how she had just recently got saved and going to Kingdom Bound had cemented her faith in Christ. And she was so encouraged by the speakers and the music. But she was even more inspired and encouraged by the kids and how much they worshiped and. And connected and the relationships that built. And so we get this, this email with this. He's literally sent the letter to us in an attachment. And there's so many stories like that with Kingdom Bound, so many great testimonies that I really wanted to have a chance for people to share their stories with us at the festival. So I asked you and you know, Saturate, this is a surprise to come and do a live podcast all throughout the festival in the Marketplace tent, which we should definitely talk about because that's going to be something that we're bringing back this year. But I asked you to come and just be there to talk to people about their stories. So we want our guests to come and stop by. I would love for sponsors, I would love to hear from some artists, some of our staff people like Rikua, people who have been with the festival for a long time. We want to stop by your booth and just share some stories about Kingdom Bound. [00:33:12] Speaker A: Yeah, and that's gonna be sort of the beauty of it is just we're gonna hear. Cause everybody has a different aspect of the story. Whether you're an artist that's part of it, a produce that's been working at it for years, a vendor that's there, or just somebody that has been coming. I know I'm gonna have a hard time not telling all my stories because I do have so many stories growing up, you know, but that's part of the bigger story that needs to be toured of Kingdom Bound. [00:33:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:33:38] Speaker C: I also think it's the beauty of the technology because when you think about it. So we got a copy of this letter from this young man going through his mom's stuff. There's probably hundreds of thousands of stories like that where people recorded, but there was no way to move it to anywhere. And the technology today, which allows for the stories to be told on the spot and, you know, they're recorded and made available and will be able to be kept for posterity. [00:34:04] Speaker A: We could come to you and get those stories, but we make it easy and fun. And so tell us, where are you gonna find me in this podcast that. [00:34:14] Speaker B: We'Re still figuring out? I don't know if we're gonna put it on YouTube. I'm not sure if we're gonna sen and emails. I'm not sure what the medium will be. I'm not sure where to find it. But just, just the. The first step is collecting the Stories. The first step is giving people the opportunity to share. [00:34:27] Speaker A: But physically you're going to be able to find me. We're going to set up a live booth. [00:34:31] Speaker B: Yeah, physically. I thought you meant afterwards. I thought about what you recorded. No. Yeah, we will be in the marketplace. [00:34:36] Speaker A: Right. [00:34:36] Speaker B: And you'll be. You'll have your own little corner of the world. It's going to be a studio similar to kind of what we're set up here in with some chairs and microphones and stuff. And so, yeah, that, that's where you'll be in the marketplace. I'm really happy to announce. And Donna's rolling her eyes because she knows how happy I am to announce it. But I'm happy to announce it because everyone, ever since we got rid of the marketplace tent, we have gotten so many complaints from people wanting it back. And you know, and so we tried some different things with some pop up tents and it was okay. But we are so thrilled to bring back the marketplace tent. [00:35:14] Speaker A: So there's one central spot. [00:35:16] Speaker B: One central spot. And we're excited because we have a partnership with a bookstore. It's a like a traveling bookstore. It's called 10 of those. And they'll be kind of like the central anchor of the marketplace tent. And we have a lot of new vendors, A lot of new selling vendors. It seems like things are finally kind of back to normal in that world. After Covid. After Covid vending really fell off. [00:35:42] Speaker A: You guys just adjusting over those few years must have been. [00:35:46] Speaker C: I think we found that vendors either found an online presence and never looked back or they lost their presence altogether in those. In those post Covid years. Because even that first year we came back, we really tried to establish the marketplace and the vendors just weren't there. So it's been, it's been a growing process of them finding us again and Mike digging through the bushes and shaking out to find people to be there. So I think it's going to be great. The large tent is always a great idea because when there's weather it forces everyone in. And all the vendors are thrilled because invariably it rains once usually. Or like last year. I think last year was the hottest festival I remember. So people were looking for someplace to escape the sun. So you come in under the tent, you're in the shade a little while, so you have to buy something while you're in there. [00:36:35] Speaker A: But there's something beautiful about that. Talking about that as being part of the experience, you know, I remember you. I would save up so I could get a T shirt There was always fun T shirts and the Christian shirts and then CDs and books. And there's something you could see right there that you could tell that if I see a book, you know, I. [00:36:51] Speaker B: Have to get it, you know, the way it's made possible, which is another kind of new thing that we're doing, is now the worship tent and the marketplace tent will be just one giant tent. And our operations director, shout out to Bill Partridge, he did an amazing job of reconfiguring the worship tent. It's going to be more of like an. An intimate feel, the worship tent. [00:37:17] Speaker A: Tell us more about the worship experience that's going to be going on, why don't you? [00:37:20] Speaker B: Because that's. [00:37:21] Speaker C: Well, what I want to say first to people who have been attending for a long time, the worship tent. This is how I like to make it, like, real simple. Used to be long and narrow. So, you know, if you were at the back of the tent and you were trying to get to the front of the stage, we're talking like 75ft. Now. The reconfiguration, we were joking before we went on the air was I said, worship tent 2.0. You know, it's like, it's a reconfiguration. We're going to move to the opposite way. So when you're standing on the edge of the stage to the back of the tent, it's about 40ft. And so it will be a sort of like in the semicircular, which will create a really intimate atmosphere. And the one thing. Our worship director, Anthony Hoisington, came to me after the festival this year. He said, one of the things we'd like to do next year is we'd like to extend the worship sets a little bit so that the. The singers, the artists, have an opportunity to have some ministry time. So it's not like they feel like they're being rushed on and off the stage, like with a concert. With a concert, you know, you have a certain time frame you have to go with cut, you know, and you're done. And we don't want to do that there. So we've changed the schedule up a little bit so that those sets are a little bit longer. And that will enable the artists to really be able to share from their heart. If they want to take a minute to speak, if they want to have people come forward, if whatever they. However they feel like they want to move in there, they're going to have the ability to do that without someone saying, hey, you got to get off the stage. So we're, we're excited about that. You know, I think it's going to be a really great change. [00:38:42] Speaker A: Yeah. And I love, I love this idea, you know, because the concerts are great and, you know, and lives get changed and ministry is done. But there's some time. You just want to go and soak, you know, and not be in a hurry and really just, you know, one. [00:38:56] Speaker C: Of the things I think that time with God beautiful about Kingdom Mound is that you. The worship stage doesn't over like it did in the. Again. I talked to people who've gone for years and years and years. The stages would overlap. We don't have that overlap anymore. Now the worship tent ends at 5pm and the main stage kicks off at 5pm so there's a little bit there. [00:39:15] Speaker A: You don't necessarily have to choose between one or the other. [00:39:17] Speaker C: You do not have to choose. So you can be. You can see all the artists that you want to see on the main stage without feeling like you're missing something else. And so I think it works really well that way. And I think that this year, at least on one of the days where they'll have the laser show and the fireworks will be back. So the people in the, in the worship 10 always got shorted because at 10 o' clock it would be like all the noise, whatever you're. You're doing, you can sing as loud as you want. You're being overpowered by that. [00:39:42] Speaker A: You're getting serious with the Lord and suddenly there's fireworks in the background. [00:39:45] Speaker C: So, you know, that doesn't. That won't be happening. But I'm excited. I really loved, when I looked at the layout, I go, this looks like a church. Like it look, you know, that's just what it reminds me of. And we actually will be able to fit more people. So if anybody's thinking, oh, it's going to be smaller. No, we actually can be able to fit more people in to. Into the space, which I'm excited about that as well, because if you've come there in the morning at 9:00 or 11:00', clock, you, you, if you don't get there early enough, you're on the grass. [00:40:12] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's going to be all one tent, real intimate feel. The stage will be shorter than normal so that you kind of feel like you're more connected with the artist. And I already told Donna that if she can't find me on Sunday night, it's because I am in the front row listening to Jason Upton because he's coming back and I can't be more excited about that. [00:40:31] Speaker A: That is awesome. And I'll be there. So those who are watching, if you have a kingdom bound story, that's what we're going to be all about. We're going to be about hearing that and experience that together. So. And I'm looking forward to, you know, just what we're going to be able to have on these podcasts coming from that. [00:40:49] Speaker B: Yeah. I can't wait to hear the stories. [00:40:50] Speaker A: Yeah. But there's one more experience I want to ask about before, before we sign off for today, because this one is what made all the difference as a teen growing up. Got to again, it was a reunion. I got to see my friends, I got to hear the new bands. But the best thing was that I got to camp out right there. [00:41:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:12] Speaker A: So we got to stay as late as we wanted to. We got to go early in the morning. And you guys still do the camping experience there? [00:41:21] Speaker C: Of course. [00:41:22] Speaker A: How, how, how? Walk us through what that would be like for a campo. [00:41:27] Speaker B: I said earlier, I said Kingdom bound is like a big family reunion. And one of the special things about our relationship with Six Flags Darien Lake, like, is they completely turn the campground over to us. And so it is 100 kingdom bound campers at the campsite. You're never going to get that anywhere else in the world. You know, you might get it with like a, with like a church trip or something, but this is thousands of people that you see once a year. [00:41:58] Speaker A: At a festival, at an amusement park, at a. [00:42:01] Speaker B: Yes. So you get the retreat, you get the water park, but then you can go to some amazing worship time, you can go to some amazing concerts, but then you can go back to your campsite, light your fire, eat your s', mores, talk about the day. There's a whole bunch of exclusive things just for campers. We do a Sunday night worship night just for campers with a big bonfire. There is early morning worship just for campers. We have a teen program just for campers that that saturate is going to be helping us out with. We have a kids program that's primarily for campers. We have some late night activities that's for campers this year. Have you ever heard of the comedian Shama? I have Not a comedian that really got famous through like tick tock and social media. He's going to be there. He's going to be hosting a karaoke night. So it's going to be really funny. He's going to be hilarious. But then it's just going to be fun to do some karaoke together. So that's just for campers. Sean Rodriguez is an up and coming artist that we absolutely love. He, he has a heart for ministry and he has a servant's heart. He's the art kind of artist you want to get behind. Because of his heart and his attitude and his mindset. He's going to be hosting a late night dance party for young people, for campers. You'll have a chance to win pit passes to skillet at that dance night. And so camping, I always say to people, you know, some people will call, oh, I'm trying to get tickets, and, and I'll ask, okay, do you want to camp or are you going to drive back and forth? Yeah, I'm going to drive back and forth. And I always say, I hear what you're saying, but if you want the full Kingdom Bound experience, you got to. [00:43:46] Speaker A: Camp something that happens during that extra margin of time that can't be repeated any other way. [00:43:53] Speaker B: And then I break down the cost for them because you can get a basic campsite for 9.99 now. [00:43:59] Speaker A: And these campsites, it's not just tents. [00:44:00] Speaker B: You could, some have all these in your RV. Some do have RVs on them, some have cabins, some we have a hotel that they can stay in. [00:44:10] Speaker A: And even with the campsite, there's showers, there's facilities, but you could, you could. [00:44:14] Speaker B: Camp on a basic site for 200 a day for six people. [00:44:20] Speaker A: Wow. [00:44:20] Speaker B: Like, you can't beat that. And, and then you get all the stuff in the amusement park, all the stuff that Kingdom Mound has to offer and all the camping experiences. And so I always try to tell commuters, I'm like, yeah, it's going to be great, but if you want the full experience, you've got to camp. And my kids, when I first started going to Kingdom Bound and we would stay in the hotel and then I had kids and my wife made me go into an rv. And at first I was like, annoyed by this because I like air conditioning and I like cable television and I don't like camping that much. But my kids, the first year we were in the rv, my kids just had a blast because it's a huge family, it's a huge community. It's all these people coming together, it's the smell of fires everywhere, it's the games in the meadow that everyone's playing. And there's just a really family communal experience. [00:45:09] Speaker C: No one wants to miss waiting in line for a shower for, you know, 20 minutes or 30 minutes at one of the shower houses. Because you meet people. Yeah, talk people. Hey, where are you from? Where are you from? Hey, I'm from this church. I'm from that church. Oh, you're from way far away. We have a board member on our current board of directors. His name is Ray. Hears. He'll probably hit me for saying that I'm sharing all this. He has been working tirelessly. He lives in Listowell, Ontario, actually, fellow Canadian. He's been coming to Kingdom Mound for ages, but he's been a part of our board for the past, I think five or six years. Every day he calls the office and speaks with Amber, Mike's wife, our accommodations director, and ups his numbers. Oh, yeah, I believe. I believe that's he at now he's approaching a hundred. [00:45:58] Speaker B: Wow. [00:45:59] Speaker A: So he really believes in this experience. [00:46:00] Speaker C: And shares and, you know, and I have another family. I have another family. I have another family. And so, you know, it's been amazing to see it happen. We also have another church locally in the Tonawanda area near Buffalo. They book eight or nine cabins every year, and they fill them all. In fact, they. Then they have some people who commute and they come and visit, and they've been doing that for years. And they have their whole. You can see where that group of cabins is. You'll see a circle with all these chairs. They come out and they. At the end of the day, they'll come out and sit down around the fire and they'll say, okay, tell me, what was your best thing that happened today? You know, and they share and. And. And, you know, a lot of youth groups, they will put a kind of a requirement out so the kids just don't ride roller coasters all day long. Hey, you have to go to a seminar or you have to attend a teaching. You have to go to something. Because Kingdom, like I mentioned before, to use strong on teaching. I think that. I know that our production manager and the stage manager would probably slap me for saying this, but I feel like the most pop. The. The most powerful 20 to 45 minutes that takes place at the festival every single day is the keynote speaker every night before the main stage band. Because they have a captive audience and we pray about who's going to be there, that they're going to deliver an evangelism message. Because the people who are there, you know, this from coming many years, you can get your friends to come to an amusement park. You can't always get them to come with you to church, get them to church. After they've come to Kingdom Mound and they've given their life to Christ, then you take them to church with you, right? But you get them to the festival by saying, hey, you can ride the roller coaster and you can do whatever, but by the way, come to this concert, you know, especially, like I think about on Wednesday night when Skillet will be there. You know, John Cooper has built his ministry on ministering to people everywhere, you know, so that's why you see Skillet playing a wide variety of venues. And they do that because they're not. They're the same band whether they're playing at Kingdom Mound or whether they're playing in a club. They're ministering the gospel of Jesus to the people that are there. And so I. I feel like the campers especially, they have so many extra, like, rich experience opportunities because, you know, you're spending more time. And so you talk to people while you're there and you learn, you know, we have, like, what to go to. Mike's statement when he was talking about being a family reunion. People who only see each other one time a year at Kingdom Mound, then they catch up. What happened with what's going on with your kids, what's going on with this? You know, and. And so it's a pretty amazing thing to watch. [00:48:20] Speaker A: It gives you that space that they can. And I'll say it again, you know, what happens in the margins, you know, can't be replicated in any other way. Giving that space and those experiences. [00:48:31] Speaker C: And that's why that, you know, camping. I do the same thing that Mike does when I talk to people. It's like, you realize, especially at this time of the year right now, it's a very economical way to come, especially if you can camp. Like, not everybody's like, I'm not a tent camper anymore either, but if I was going to stay in an rv, I'd be totally fine with that. But, you know, when they hear it, a lot of times they'll say, oh, let me think, my cousin or my uncle's got an rv. I bet I can borrow it. And, you know, now we're going to camp, and now we're creating a whole experience for the family. [00:48:58] Speaker A: And, you know, even with my family, you know, we have a site. You know, my wife was saying, well, if I could get an rv, and I said, well, we can't afford an rv, but this is going to be a chance to experience a tent, a family tent. She's like, well, can we put an air conditioner in it. Because they do have electricity there. [00:49:14] Speaker C: That's right. Yes. [00:49:15] Speaker A: She has this whole vision of air conditioning in a tent. So we'll see. We'll see. So once again, so we don't miss it. [00:49:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:23] Speaker A: When and where is Kingdom bound? [00:49:27] Speaker B: Kingdom Bound is July 28th to the 30th at Six Flags Darien Lake and Darien center, which is right outside of Batavia, New York, not far from Rochester or Buffalo. And the dates are July 28th to the 30th. But one more reason to camp. If you camp, you get two extra days. So if you camp, you get to come on the 27th. We have some stuff for you on Sunday that's just for the campers and you can stay through the 31st. So for campers, it's July 27th to the 31st. But the kingdom Bound stuff, the concerts and the seminars and the worship tent happens from the 28th to the 30th. [00:50:03] Speaker A: So you get the extra Sunday and Thursday if you stay on site. Sounds like a good deal to me. [00:50:09] Speaker B: It is. [00:50:10] Speaker A: Guys. For those that are watching this with still time to book their tickets, where do they go? What. What's the steps so they could be part of this? [00:50:22] Speaker C: Well, you can call the office. Can I give the phone number, please? You can call the office at 716-633-1117 or 800-461-4485. And we'll talk to you and we'll be happy to help you make a reservation, buy tickets, answer all your questions. But you can also go online. You can go to the kingdom bound website, kingdombound.org and you can click the button there to buy tickets. And when the ticket page comes up, every available option is there for you. Tickets, campsites, reserve seating, meet and greets, pit passes, you name it, we have it on there. And it's available. Art classes, everything is there. The only thing that you would have to go separately to register for is the kids drama class. [00:51:06] Speaker A: Tell us about that again. [00:51:07] Speaker C: How do you do it? Family Life Network. You go to their website and you'll see the classes offered. You click the one for Kingdom Bound and you follow the prompts and that'll take you there for that registration. But we. I always encourage people, especially at this time of the year. We're. We are in the office, and so we're happy to answer questions. Sometimes it's much easier to accomplish something on a phone call because you want to ask. You're welcome to email. You can email [email protected] and we'll answer your questions as well. But those are the easiest steps. We try to make the website processes kind of as seamless as possible to be able to make it easy for you to make a reservation. [00:51:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Especially if you're a youth group or like a church group or a group of people. Call us because we want you there. [00:51:50] Speaker A: And so you guys are gonna answer any questions or. [00:51:53] Speaker B: And we don't give options and we don't want cost to ever be a reason. You can't come with your youth group or your church group or your friend group. Because we just want as many people there to experience the gospel and to experience the presence of God and this community as possible. So call us for sure if you're a group because we can work with you and make it so that you can come. [00:52:16] Speaker C: And I'd also add in there for our Canadian customers. We have a large contingency of Canadians who come to Kingdom Bound. We're thrilled. And so what we're offering, because the dollar is really not doing great right now. And so we are offering a rollback. So that's something that has to be done over the phone because if you go to the website and you try to buy, you're going to be quoted whatever price is currently going on. But if you call the office, we're going to give you a rollback on the price, which will help hopefully with the exchange rate. [00:52:42] Speaker A: And thank you for doing that. And it's an easy drive from. From Niagara. It's only about 40 minutes from Niagara and it's easy in and easy out. So we got to see more of those Canadians. So hopefully see you there. [00:52:53] Speaker C: Yes. [00:52:54] Speaker A: Donna Russo, Mike Wing, thank you guys for giving us all the information and getting us excited about Kingdom Bound this year. And we're going to tell more of the stories. [00:53:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:53:05] Speaker A: And it's going to be a great time. [00:53:07] Speaker C: It's a wonderful experience. Thanks. [00:53:09] Speaker A: And God bless you guys. I am Kevin Neville and we will see you guys at Kingdom Bound. God bless. [00:53:18] Speaker B: It.