Quick summary:
The Welcome Home Fest will take place Aug. 31 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Brickyard. The event will feature live music, free food, children's activities and giveaways.
MANSFIELD — Damien Beauford is passionate about bringing people together and promoting healing in the community.
So when he saw how the Final Friday concert series galvanizes downtown, he got inspired.
“Final Friday happens down here and it’s awesome,” Beauford said. “(I thought) ‘How can we do something down here and reach people with the gospel?'”
Beauford and his wife Anna are the driving force behind the Welcome Home Festival, which returns to the Brickyard on Aug. 31.
The free festival will feature live music by Christian artists, plus free hamburgers and hotdogs, giveaways, face painting and activities for children and families.
Everyone is welcome, regardless of their religious beliefs or background.
“It’s a good time for families to just come hang out, let your kids be kids, enjoy some good music and if you’re lead to receive the word, good, you know what I mean?” Beauford said.
This year’s lineup includes DJ C Rob, Welcome Home Worship, Chawa Music and James Williams II.
Williams is a singer, songwriter, musician and preacher from Newark, New Jersey. He currently resides in Mansfield. James released his first gospel album, “Praisology: The Freshman Years,” in June 2017 and won four Kingdom Image Awards in 2018.
Chawa Music is a Christian hip hop artist, songwriter and motivational speaker. He earned several nominations this year for the Gospel Choice Music Awards.
Giveaway prizes include tickets to the Creation Museum, Buckeye Imagination Museum, and Snow Trails, as well as merchandise from Welcome Home Fest and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Welcome Home Fest will also have a mobile baptismal pool onsite, courtesy of Revive Ohio.
“I was talking to my wife like, ‘Hey, I want to do baptisms here,'” Beauford said. “Two days later, Revive Ohio calls us and says they’d love to come.”
“We want to welcome in the presence of God and let him do what he’s going to do.”
Beauford spearheaded the first Welcome Home Festival last year. Without any promotion on social media, the faith-focused event drew around 75 people. Organizers gave out about $250 worth of hotdogs and chips.
“People got to share their testimony. We got to pray for the city. We got to pray for people in that moment,” Beauford recalled. “It was just really good. We were like, ‘All right, this has to happen every year.'”
Going forward, Beauford hopes to make the event a Labor Day weekend tradition.
“We want to welcome in the presence of God and let him do what he’s going to do,” Beauford said. “We’re just vessels setting up the stage for him.”
Beauford said the festival name has a double meaning. It’s a holy invitation, inviting God to work in the hearts and lives of the people in attendance.
It’s also a reference to the biblical parable of the prodigal son, which emphasizes God’s acceptance of people, regardless of their past.
“There’s this story in the Bible about the prodigal son. He got off track in life and he came back to the Father, and the Father welcomed him up in arms,” Beauford explained.
“It’s just like this idea that, like you’re never too far away from the Father. He’s always here to receive you on the other side of that.”
