Gospel singers from across the nation are headed for northeast Iowa for a weeklong concert starting Monday known as Singin’ in the Cedar Valley. Event director Ken Carter, of Iowa Falls, says they have more than a dozen gospel groups performing, including trios, quartets and families.
Carter says, "We have a concert each night Monday through Thursday, and then Friday and Saturday, we go from 10 to 10, and on Friday and Saturday groups will sing every half-hour." The event is being held at the Riverview Conference Center in Cedar Falls. Carter says gospel is a broad musical term and this six-day event will feature many varieties of gospel.
Carter says: "We have everything from what I guess you’d call contemporary gospel to pure gospel and just a touch of bluegrass thrown in." He says the audiences will be coming from all over the region, while the singers hail from many other states, including Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri and Illinois. Among the best-known acts are: the Booth Brothers of Tennessee and the seven-member Allen Family from Michigan.
Carter expects up to 600 people nightly with bigger crowds on the weekend. The event was held for many years during the summertime in Pella but was moved north to Cedar Falls to make use of the air-conditioned tabernacle. For more information, visit www.riverviewconferencecenter.com .
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