New festival set for July near Portland

     NORTH PLAINS -- Plans have been announced for a new Christian music festival in thePortlandarea this summer, and signs are good that it will grow into a big annual event.

     Called “Hideout 2003,” it will be held Friday through Sunday, July 11-13.  Tickets go on sale March 1 through www.groundfloorevents.com,     The event takes its name, in part, from its location -- a scenic piece of property near North Plains called Horning’s Hideout. 

     A 20-minute drive from downtownPortland, the site in the foothills of the Sunset Corridor offers camping in a secluded environment as well as a natural amphitheater for music.

     “The sound there is incredible,” said Keith Teasdale, aWashingtonCountyresident who initiated efforts for the new event.

     Tentatively lined up for the first edition of Hideout are the national bands SonicFlood and Kutless, and local groups including Hyperstatic Union, Rescue, Trace and the Bob Gerig Band. Also planned is a “Battleof the Youth Bands” competition, in which the winning band will get to play on the main stage.

     The festival will feature a message from evangelist Dan Owens of Eternity Minded Ministries and former director of training and associate evangelist with the  Luis Palau team.

     The festival is sponsored by Bend-based Vision Minstries, with support from the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association’s Next Generation Alliance, Ground Floor Events, the Portland Youth Federation and Beaverton Christian Church and Our Place Christian Church.

     Teasdale got linked up with theBendministry after attending a concert it sponsored in theOregonCityarea.  He now serves as a vice president for Vision Ministries.

     He said the potential for a Portland-area Christian music festival is clear.  Because of its other work nationally and worldwide, thePalauteam organizes local festivals only occasionally, and there hasn’t been a major annual Christian music festival nearPortlandsince Jesus Northwest ceased in the mid-1990s.

     Enlisting support from a wide number of local churches, Teasdale has spoken about the festival to gatherings of Portland-area pastors. He says response has been enthusiastic.

     “It’s not just for youth only. It’s for everybody. We want to cover entire churches,” he said. “The event is evangelistic, and we want to build God’s Kingdom.”

     Teasdale expects that at least several thousand people will attend the festival in its debut year.

     For ticket information and other festival details, go to www.hideout2003.org or to www.groundfloorevents.com.

     Information on the festival is also available by contacting Teasdale at 503-649-6622.