Grovestock honors lives of all children
Celebration includes arts, Christian music
Grovestock Fest, a family festival, will be held on April 26 for the third year in Brighton, Tenn.
The arts festival was conceived of by Norm Kercher after his oldest daughter, Kendall Kercher, 22, was killed in a car accident in 2009.
The first Grovestock Fest was held in 2012. Activities include live Christian music, food, booths selling handmade art and crafts, kite flying, tie-dyeing, volleyball, horseshoes and Frisbee golf, as well as some words from various preachers.
In July 2012, shortly after the first Grovestock Fest, Kercher’s youngest daughter, Callie, 21, was killed in a motorcycle accident.
The festival focuses on the arts, because both sisters had a love for the arts.
When Kendall was killed, she was a senior at the University of Memphis. Callie, an avid Frisbee golfer, was a singer. Their younger brother Lee, 21, is a drummer with the band All the Indians and will perform at the festival.
All the music at the festival is Christian and includes gospel, traditional, praise and contemporary music.
The musical l i neup of nine groups includes Terry Gray, Three for Thee, Holly Grove Youth Drama and Chasing Delaware. The headliner is Dove Award winner Mark Shultz, who will perform at 7 p.m.
Kercher said the purpose of the festival is to “win souls for Christ.” He also hopes the festival will eventually help grow Grovestock Ministries, a faith-based organization designed to help parents whose children have died.
The festival’s overarching purpose is “to celebrate the lives of our children,” whether they are here or not.
“It’s not a crybaby festival,” said Kercher, “It’s a celebration.”
The festival will be held at Holly Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 4538 Holly Grove in Brighton. The gates will open at noon, and the first performance will start at 12: 30 p.m.
For more information, e-mail normankercher@ grovestockfest.org.
Proceeds go to various c hurch- r el ate d ministries. For t ickets, visit itickets. com/ events/ 3 2 4 659/ Brighton_TN/Grovestockfest. html. Ticket price is $15, or $10 in advance.
SUNRISE MASS
The 29th annual Easter Sunrise Mass will be held at 6:45 a.m. Sunday at Calvary Cemetery.
Monsignor John McArthur, pastor of St. Louis Catholic Church, will be the celebrant. Monsignor Valentine Handwerker, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, will be the homilist.
The Wolf River Pipes & Drums will perform.
The cemetery is at 1663 Elvis Presley Blvd. For more information, call 901948-1529.
OTHER HAPPENINGS
First United Methodist Church starts April 29 a new nine-week study on “I Corinthians: The Challenges of Life Together” by Paul Stevens and Dan Williams.
The group meets at noon every Tuesday at Caritas Village, 2509 Harvard. For information, call William Cooper at 901-338-6540.
Jenny and Tyler, a husband-and-wife duo, will be at First United Methodist Church on Friday.
The couple plays acoustic folk-pop with an acoustic guitar, mandolin and kick-drum of an old suitcase.
The stop in Memphis is part of the duo’s Freedom Tour, which supports the International Justice Mission’s work to stop humantrafficking.
Tickets: $15, $10 in advance. For tickets, visit eventbrite.com/e/jennyt yl er- i n- memphis- t ntickets-10401666665. For information about Jenny and Tyler, visit jennyandtyler.com. For more information, call 901-527-8362.
The church is located at 204 N. Second.