Star-Journbal Editor
Carol Duerksen hoped at least 250 people would show up for the first-ever "Song on the Lawn" celebration Sunday evening at WillowSpring Downs farm.
With that number in mind, and, to make sure there'd be plenty for a future church potluck dinner or two, she prepared enough barbecue pork, baked beans, and fixings to feed as many as 350 people. At least she thought there'd be leftovers.
Clicking a counter fastened to her belt, Duerksen watched with thankful concern as 250 lawn-chair-toting people flocked to the farm, located between Hillsboro and Goessel, then 300, and 345
The clicker stopped at 347.
"God is good!" Duerksen said.
Dry, cool weather was an added blessing to the mini music festival, which took place under a shady canopy of trees next to the farmhouse of Duerksen and her husband, Maynard Knepp.
The event was billed as a mini-music festival and fund-raiser for Joyful Noise Community Child Care in Goessel.
Six groups performed:
Brothers and Sisters, a family gospel/bluegrass band from Goessel; Lighthouse Quartet, a men's quartet from Hillsboro; Cross Road, a gospel group from Tabor Mennonite; The Master's Trail Hands, a men's quartet from Chisholm Trail Bible Church in Goessel.
Also performing were Bill Froese (soloist) and Brian Voth (guitarist); and One Way Up, a contemporary worship band including Jesse Goertzen and Chris Voth of Goessel.
Duerksen and Knepp, who attend Tabor Mennonite Church and are active in the Mennonite community, are co-authors of the well-known Amish novels in the Jonas Series and the Skye Series. The couple has co-written a dozen Amish-theme books that have sold more than 55,000 copies over the past decade.
"Song on the Lawn" is the third charity event to be hosted by the couple at their farm, which, with its ponies, sheep, llamas, and potbellied pig, has become a popular gathering place for people of all ages.
Day on the Farm attracts hundreds to the farm every August; and at Christmas, Night in the Barn living nativity brings visitors from near and far.
Song on the Lawn, a fund-raiser for Joyful Noise Community Child Care in Goessel, was put together by volunteers from local Mennonite churches, and local businesses covered the cost of the event.
A freewill offering brought in $3,000, which, according to Duerksen, "just happened" to be the goal they set for the event.
