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Some face long lines, waits, delays

By Jenisha Watts HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

WILMORE -- Cole Castleberry wanted his VIP pass, but it wasn't available as he expected. Kemen Taylor wanted his vendor's pass but signs weren't clear so he was standing in the wrong line. "It's a mass confusion," vendor John Wirmel said.

For some Ichthus Festival-goers and even workers, mix-ups, lengthy waits and long lines were not uncommon Thursday morning, the opening day of the Christian music festival.

An Ichthus committee member, Emily Moore, said a recent storm that caused computer networks to fail led to delays in processing some ticket-holders' passes, with the result that some tickets were not available for pickup as expected. Some people waited 45 minutes to an hour to get their tickets; meanwhile the festivities inside the gates had already begun.

Another committee member, Helen Music, could feel the pain of festival-goers because she didn't receive all the passes she had paid for. But she had only one concern: "My interest is what is in the kids' heart," she said, adding, "if this is the worst thing that happens, no big deal."

Curtus Moak, 29, of Hamilton, Ohio, looked at the bigger picture. He said Christians should be calm because they have higher standards. As cicadas swarmed around him he started whistling and spoke about his long wait. He said it gave him the opportunity to practice Galatians 5:22: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness."