Campus religious groups join forces, establish annual Faith Fest
By: Cassidy Colarik – Staff Writer
The University of Dayton’s first annual Faith Fest offers students a chance to gain P.A.T.H. points while rocking out to some great music.
Faith Fest is a free, Christian concert at the RecPlex that is open to students of all religious faiths and backgrounds, according to the events official flyer. The opening acts will include two student bands: David Devlin and The Washboards and The Leap Years. The main act will feature the Northern Ireland band, Rend Collective, whose music is described to have a sound similar to the band Mumford & Sons. Rend Collective is currently on their U.S. tour promoting their latest album, “The Art of Celebration”, which represents how Rend Collective labels themselves: a celebration band.
The student bands will begin performing at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Rend Collective is scheduled to perform from 6 to 8:30 p.m. There will also be Rend Collective merchandise available for purchase. Admission for students to attend Faith Fest is free, however, those who do not attend UD will be required to pay $15. While students can obtain tickets at the door the day of the event, those hosting Faith Fest encourage students to book a reservation for the event through OrgSync and pick up their tickets in advance at KU Box Office, as seats are expected to fill up quickly.
Faith Fest has been developing since April 2014. The partnership and collaboration is at the core of Marianist tradition. Six campus religious organizations (Campus Crusades for Christ, The Navigators, Athletes in Action, Phi Lambda Iota, Catholic Life and Chi Rho) plus UD campus ministry, the Student Government Association and student development have been actively involved in the planning process. There will be tables set up for these religious organizations for those who wish to learn more about them or join.
A unique component of Faith Fest is that this is the first time all six Christian organizations on campus have worked together to plan a faith inspired event.
“Faith Fest would be a cool event to attend because I will get to interact with students of different faith backgrounds,” Fayez Alanazi, a first year chemical engineering major, said.
“The flesh to those words, the vision to those words, and the dreams to those words are student driven,” Brother Brandon Paluch, one of the founder’s of Faith Fest, said.
Bringing this unique and innovative event to life will be an opportunity for students to connect with faith, fellowship and friends as well as the chance to learn about organizations.
Faith Fest will be held Saturday. The event doors will open at 4 p.m.