Festival focus is on patriotic heritage, faith
— COURTESY PHOTO Steve Bradshaw, pictured with his wife Cindy, is the pastor of Cocolalla Cowboy Church and visionary of the Inland Northwest Freedom Festival to be held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds Sept. 17.
— COURTESY PHOTO Red Roots, a Christian country band, will perform at the Inland Northwest Freedom Festival Sept. 17 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds.
SANDPOINT — Steve Bradshaw, pastor of the Cocolalla Cowboy Church, had a vision 20 years ago, but it was not until this year that the vision began to take shape.
On Sept. 17, his vision will be realized when the first Inland Northwest Freedom Festival, with a theme of "Revitalizing America's Patriotic Christian Heritage," will be held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds with 10 speakers and live entertainment.
The purpose of the festival is to bring the Christian community together and promote the values of freedom and liberty on which the nation was founded.
"It's a call to all American people who are interested in the freedoms that were given us by our Founding Fathers, and our heavenly father, that brought this country to the nation that it is," Bradshaw said. "That is all being chipped away by those who seek to destroy it."
Bradshaw said it is a time when "so much" of the information being taught about the United States Constitution is inaccurate, leading people to believe Christianity was not involved, which he said is the opposite of truth.
Event organizer Lee Lancaster said there is also a lot of fear in the country today, because "nobody is satisfied" with the choices the country faces politically with upcoming presidential election.
"That's one of the things we hope this event will address is the fear that people are feeling, and find a way to bring some comfort and some assurance," Lancaster said.
When Bradshaw and event organizers set up a date that would work best for all involved they did not, at first, realize the event would fall on Constitution Day. As the speakers at the event will address topics such as the Constitution, the coincidence is well founded.
"This event is surrounded around the Constitution and our religious freedoms that God and man put in place when they founded our country, and how that constitutional relevance to us as believers interacts with life today," Lancaster said.
The day will start at 8 a.m. with Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, with Washington state Rep. Matt Shea and Pastor John Denney of Priest River Community Church to follow. Rick Green of "Wallbuilders Live" and a nationally renowned speaker on topics such as Christian heritage will keynote the event. According to its website, Wallbuilders is an organization "dedicated to presenting America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious and constitutional foundation on which America was built." Wallbuilders Live with Green and David Barton can be heard across America on about 200 radio stations as well as online. Green is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. the day of the event.
More scheduled speakers will come from all over the country and include Shahram Hadian, a pastor, police officer, teacher and coach who started the "Truth in Love" project and travels the world speaking about issues facing Americans; Michael Farris, chancellor of Patrick Henry College in Virginia and chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, and he was the founder of both organizations; Jenna Ellis, professor of constitutional law at Colorado Christian University; and Kentucky state Rep. Tim Moore; Bradshaw will speak at 4 p.m. and Pastor Paul Van Noy of Candlelight Christian Fellowship in Coeur d'Alene will finish off the day of speakers.
The cost to attend the festival is $10 and all proceeds go to the cost of funding the event.
Informaton: www.inlandnorthwestfreedomalliance.org.