Over the past week, I’ve been doing some pretty heavy promoting of the Chronicles of Narnia. I worked at the Narnia booth at UnityFest 2005 in Muskegon, Michigan, handing out Narnia Passports and showing the trailer and behind the scenes material. I also had the opportunity to meet some bands, one of whom is involved in the Narnia Inspired Soundtrack, and another artist that is also involved. I’ve also heard the songs that they have contributed to the album, which hits stores on September 27th.
Thursday August 11, 2005
This was the first day at the Narnia booth. I arrived on the site at Heritage Landing in Muskegon around 1:00pm. Security sent me to park my car in a place reserved for volunteer parking. I made my way back up to the main gate and was taken around to pick up my stuff for the Narnia booth. The stuff came in four boxes, three of which were huge wooden crates, and one cardboard box.
They sent for some crew team to pick up the boxes and brought me over to my booth. It was right next to a merchandise tent, so I knew I was in a good location. However, there were no instructions for setting the booth up. I just decided to go with my instincts on how things fit together and what to do with different things, taking one thing at a time. Soon enough I had put together a metal Lamp-post, and put up a few long banners and some Narnia Shield table cloths.
There were many many boxes of Narnia Passports and a nice LCD flatscreen TV and a DVD player included, with a bunch of speakers and a subwoofer as well. Three others showed up that were to help that afternoon with the booth, and together we got the booth ready in time for the opening of the festival. It’s a good thing that at least two of us were technologically oriented, because it helped us make sure things were working and everything was running.
The day was rainy though, and we didn’t have a whole lot of people come by the booth. That and it was the first day of the Festival and the big days were Friday and Saturday. In the evening, it was time for us to change shifts… I was supposed to go home to speak to a special friend of mine, and the other three were heading back to Grand Rapids. However, the two that were supposed to show up and be relief for us, never showed up or even made contact. I was forced to break off my commitments with no way of letter them know the reasons why. So I stayed and at 10 o’clock, I packed up the valuables and left.
Friday August 12, 2005
Day 2. The whole day was being manned by the crew that I worked with Thursday afternoon. I had other things to do that day, so I didn’t go to the festival until the evening. I got there at the beginning of Jeremy Camp’s show. I got something to eat and watched him perform. Then I went over to the Narnia booth and stood around for a while, helping them out. I heard that afternoon there were seven of them in the booth and they had a great time handing out things and talking about Narnia.
I stuck around and met some people there. Everyone I met was awesome, and if you’re reading this, thanks for stopping by and chatting up Narnia with us!
After that, I went and saw tobyMac perform. Neither he, nor Jeremy Camp played their single from the Narnia inspired soundtrack, however. But it was still a great show.
Saturday August 13, 2005
Day 3. This day, I showed up early, as the first volunteer of the day hadn’t been there the previous two days, and I figured she’d need help setting up. So when I got there, I went straight over and sure enough, set the DVD player up and got the teaser DVD running. I stuck around for a while and a few more people showed up that I hadn’t met yet. I helped them out for a while and then walked around the festival, meeting people, running into friends, and seeing shows.
After I spoke at length with a new friend that I met at the Narnia booth, I went back over and was telling a kid a bit about the movie when I looked over, and spotted a couple of friends that I did not expect to see walking by: Rachel and Val. I shouted “NO WAY!” and ran over and gave them hugs. Mary, who was working the Narnia Booth with me just laughed and laughed and she finished answering the questions. I appreciate that! Thanks Mary!
The three of us went over to see Jars of Clay perform. They didn’t bring a drummer with them so it was just two guitars, a keyboard, and the lead singer. They performed their new song from the Narnia Inspired album, “Waiting for the World to Fall.” And what a terrific song it is! I have always been a fan of Jars of Clay, since their first album back in 1995 (which I still highly recommend), and this song is definitely traditional Jars of Clay.
After their show, I said goodbye to the girls and went back to the booth. A girl from Mona Shores High School named Meghan joined us at the booth and helped out for the rest of the evening. Mary went in search of chocolate shakes, as her voice was going, and I stuck around. When she got back, I went over to try and meet Jars of Clay. They cut the line off, but that didn’t discourage me. I went into the tent and met the lead singer of a band called Mourning September, that was pretty awesome. Then I waited until the line ended, and went around the back of the tent and spoke with Dan Haseltine, the lead singer of the band for a while. I went back to the Narnia booth and told of my adventure and Meghan wanted to meet them, so I took her over, and Dan and Charlie both said hello, and we talked for a bit about Narnia, which was awesome. I remembered I had their CD in my hand and got those two at least to sign it.
Steven Curtis Chapman was on the main stage next, but I stuck by the Narnia booth and helped out there, until all the other tents started to take down their stuff. We started to do the same, and it took a while. In the end, everything fit perfectly, and we said our goodbyes. It was a great time had by all.
Monday August 15, 2005
I discovered late Sunday night that Bethany Dillon was going to be in town on Monday, doing a little show and signing her new album, due to come out on Tuesday. I figured that this was as good a time as any to meet her and see her perform live. There were a little under 100 people there, total, at Kregel Bookstore, where it was to be held. She played five or six songs on a little stage. One question she was asked, was “If you could be any candy bar, what would you be?” She answered “A king-size Hershey Bar.” After the show, she went over and signed autographs. I spoke to her, telling her that I run a Narnia fan site, and she said that she’s so excited for Narnia. She can’t wait for December 9th, so she can finally see it. She said “You’re gonna flip-out when you hear the soundtrack!”
Well, I can’t wait already, and as she is a self-proclaimed Lord of the Rings and Narnia geek (CCM Magazine, August 2005, pg 24), that makes me trust her opinion all the more. I hope she enjoys the movie!
This was the first of what will hopefully be many Narnia-inspired adventures to come in the months ahead. Be on the lookout for more tales of concerts, bands, books, and more as we head toward the release of the film on December 9th. E-mail us your stories as well! We’re putting together a new section of this site that may include them!