OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Thousands poured into the Lifest grounds Thursday for the beginning of the weekend-long Christian music festival.
“People are excited to come together, worship here, enjoy music. We’ve got funnel cakes, food, Ferris wheels. Trying to think of another F. Anyway, we’ve got all kinds of stuff for people to do down here that’s family friendly,” said Lifest Director John Dougherty.
The organizers are expecting a larger crowd than last year, and they’re prepared to welcome them.
“We’ve created some little city park areas,” Dougherty explained. “Little community areas for the camping villages to come together. Volleyball, cornhole, that kind of stuff. We’ve got a big giant slide this year in addition to our Ferris wheel.”
Visitors from across the country are descending on Northeast Wisconsin — whether it be their first time, like Michael Dell from Kansas City, or their 20th.
“This is the first time. It was a little overwhelming seeing this many RVs in one place,” said Dell. “I’m excited just to see people getting to interact and spend time together as families. It’s almost like a ready-made community in a way. So, I think it will be just a fun, life-giving experience.”
Debbie Berg has been coming to Lifest for 20 years. She said she saw her kids grow within the community.
“We saw that in them, and we wanted to instill that in the next generation. So now we’re youth group leaders and we want to bring those kids from our church, give them this experience of amazing music, building relationships, seeing what God can do,” she said.
Dougherty said they’re always looking to the future.
“We’re already starting to look at 2026. We’ve been working on it for a while, and in a very short while, we’re going to start working on 27 already,” he said.
In 2022, Lifest had an estimated economic impact of over $6 million. That’s the last time the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau agency did a monetary breakdown on the event. The agency expects that number to grow steadily every year.
