Estimated 26,500 people attend 3-day festival

Organizers of the Festival of the Bells are estimating 26,500 people filled the streets of Hillsboro over the course of the three-day celebration.

Chairperson Michael Bradford told The Highland County Press that Thursday and Friday are estimated to be among the most highly attended in festival history. Bradford said preliminary numbers show 6,000 to 7,500 were in attendance Thursday to hear contemporary Christian singer Natalie Grant. 

"It is always going to be really hard to top (the 2007 Friday night concert featuring) Taylor Swift and Emerson Drive," Bradford said. "But this is definitely one of our top nights. It flip flops, sometimes Friday is our big night, sometimes it's Saturday. This is a close second. I would be comfortable in saying we had close to 10,000 people Friday night (with singer Justin Moore), and between 8,500 and 9,000 Saturday (with singer Jason Michael Carroll). It was a good crowd. This had to be, if not the best, one of the best Thursdays we have ever had."

An estimated 18,000 filled the streets of Hillsboro to attend Swift's concert in 2007.

Bradford said that, for him, a highlight of the festival was the teamwork and community spirit that brought the immense project to fruition. 

"I think some of the best parts was the amount of teamwork from the committee, and the community was amazing," Bradford said. "One of the good things really was the support form the community, and their interest."

From the Highland County Ministerial Association, which sponsors the Thursday night Christian concert and helped with setup and cleanup, to the numerous volunteers, it was a full community effort, Bradford said. 

"The (Hillsboro) varsity football team came up and helped us set up and then dismantle equipment," Bradford said. "SATH (Supplemental Assistance to the Handicapped) sells tickets, and we had numerous volunteers attending events. Some people would just come up and ask for a trash bag and gloves so they could pitch in and help clean up. The fact that the community was so involved made it a really refreshing event."

Entertainment committee chairperson Rick Williams had said the committee was already looking for options for the 2011 festival. 

"It's just preliminary talk," Bradford said. "We're looking at who is out there touring, figuring out our money and our schedule, and trying to organize so we might be in the area they are touring in on their travel schedule, that way we look better to them when we make an offer." 

Prior to Saturday's main concert with Jason Michael Carroll, the festival committee honored long-time members.

"We've got some people who have had years on the committee and have made other commitments, and they have decided to retire. It is our loss," Bradford said to the crowd Saturday, as he presented plaques to committee members Marc Bayless, Jim Farrell, Mike Bick, Linda Farrell and Tracey Bennington, though he said there are numerous people who work in organizing festival events. 

"I was very excited to be part of this year's festival and to be the chairperson," Bradford said. "There was a lot of teamwork from the community and the committee. I had numerous people from the community come up to tell me how nice it was, how pleasant it was, and that they can't wait for next year. I think it was an event that everybody needed this year, to be able to go out, see people, not spend a lot of money, and just really enjoy themselves.