So long, farewell...

These weeks go by way too fast. Just a minute ago, it was Tuesday night. (Wasn't it?) Four days have passed, and I'm sitting here, writing in disbelief that Alive07 has come and gone.

I (Brandon) will be giving my two cents for today's events as we finish of the week.

First off, since I haven't gotten a chance until now, here are ten things that I enjoyed this week:

10. Like Maria said, there are some crazy T-shirts. I know we've been focusing on the slogan shirts, but there are so, so, so many vendors that just had aesthetically pleasing unique designs. Check them out. (A list is on our vendor page.)
9. The lake looked especially pretty this week. Maybe it's the blue sky, maybe it's the chemicals. I don't really care.
8. The annual hair-trend of the week. This year was the Let's-see-if-I-can-put-some-of-my-hair-into-a-mohawk year.
7. Spending the week with people from around the world. Hawaii, Europe, South America...they were all accounted for.
6. Sunshine. Yes, SUNSHINE. No mud. Wonderful temperatures. Awesome.
5. Confetti.
4. Chic Fil-a. Mmm.
3. Alive's Got Talent. Maybe I'm just a sucker for talent competitions, but it really was a success.
2. Seeing the majority of my favorite bands (Switchfoot, Leeland, Starfield, Shane & Shane, The Afters, to name a few.)
1. Worship times. Oh, the worship times at Alive.

Anyways, back to Saturday. I arrived this morning just in time to catch several Alive's Got Talent auditions. I'll be honest when I say that I didn't know what to expect, but these people really impressed me. I caught our very own Maria sing a Bethany Dillon song, another friend perform a song of her own, a break dancer, a rapper, some singers, and the two guys that ended up winning the whole thing, Flee From Reason. (They were really good.)

Stopping at the Woods Stage, I found myself quickly enthralled in the gospel goodness that is True Worship, followed by a few songs from Brandon Heath before making my way to see Emery at the Beach Stage. This year the crowd over there seemed to be bigger than I ever remember. Many sporting the shirt "I would say that I'm more of the Beach Stage type" were obviously regulars, as were those loving a good rock show. Emery was definitely a good rock show. See below for some pictures of that.

As I then headed back to catch Chris Tomlin in the Worship Together tent, I noticed a group off in the distance huddled around. Then I noticed fire. Slightly worried, I found out that it was simply Jesse the Juggler doing one of his tricks. It was impressive. Equally (actually, more) impressive was the heart of worship that had filled the Worship Together tent as hundreds were gathered singing "Amazing Grace." I almost didn't feel worthy to stumble upon such a moment. More on worship in a little bit.

First I need to try and recap Family Force 5. How does someone do that? Anyone that has experienced their live show knows you kinda just need to be there. But I'll at least try. Silver Incredible Hulk hands. A Transformers helmet. Giant (GIANT) white balloons. The stage crew dancing around the stage in helmets. Lots of singing. Lots (I mean lots) of dancing. So much dancing and so much awesomeness that all I could do was stand and be entertained. What makes it even greater is knowing the reason behind it all is pure joy that we are all saved. They ended the set with prayer. I love it.

Building 429, David Nasser, and Superchic[k] were the next to fill the sound waves of the amphitheater, and they were all so good. I know that it sounds cheesy, but there is something about this festival that truly is alive. A perfect example is what happened later on in the evening. While there have been so many terrific worship leaders this week, I hadn't felt such passion in my bones all week as during the time of worship that Chris Tomlin led the festival in. Just a quick illustration: As we were singing "Indescribable," the sky turned into the craziest colors as if the lyrics and what was happening around us were perfectly intertwined. (See below for pictures.)

Newsboys then capped off the week with a crazy show. Confetti--high, spinning platforms (on stage and above the crowd), intense smoke machines, good music, and loud fans. It was fun.

The close of this festival was more than just the close of Alive 07 though. It was the end to a celebration of twenty years for the festival. My hat is off to Bill and Kathy Graening for taking on such a monstrous feat in putting on this kind of a festival year after year for the last two decades. Thousands upon thousands of lives have been changed, and we have all definitely been encouraged to be alive through it all.