Festival draws faith-minded, socially conscious influencers to two sites to encourage more Americans to express beliefs in new ways.

Durham, NC, June 07, 2012 -- Monday's report released by the Pew Research Center suggests Americans continue to be highly religious, although a record low 56% affiliate themselves with one of the two major political parties. Despite their lack of political affiliation, however, Americans still hold clear opinions on social issues.

The desire of faith-minded Americans to avoid political extremes, while still maintaining interest in humanitarian and justice-related issues, of course prompts many to seek new ways of expressing their beliefs. The Wild Goose Festival, a festival at the intersection of justice, spirituality, music and art, is expanding to two sites to offer people more opportunities to do just that.

"We wanted to nurture a gathering that could be rooted in the Christian tradition, while acknowledging the broken parts of our own tradition, ensuring that marginalized voices are heard, and committing to radical love as both our goal and the path we use to get there." Executive Director Gareth Higgins said.

Wild Goose's offerings seem to naturally draw faith-minded, socially conscious Americans seeking a better way. The festival’s 2011 North Carolina debut featured notable presenters ranging from producer T Bone Burnett of Bob Dylan fame to Martin Luther King Jr. speechwriter and civil rights statesman, Vincent Harding, in addition to drawing 1,700 attenders. The success of this initial event prompted the scheduling of a 2nd festival outside of Durham, NC on June 21-24, 2012. Ticket information is available here.

Interest in the 2nd annual festival proved strong and spread to other regions, prompting the Wild Goose organization to launch an additional festival site, “Wild Goose West,” on August 31st-September 2nd at the Benton County Fairgrounds, 90 miles outside of Portland, Oregon. Tickets for Wild Goose West (Oregon) were first made available to the public last week here.

“Wild Goose has wanted to be a festival that reflects the great breath and depth, color and texture of all it means to be a follower of God, particularly in the way of Jesus. Hosting celebrations of faith, justice and the arts on both coasts allows us to be even more accessible and intentional about making room for as many as possible.” Board Member and founder of Kid Cultivators, Melvin Bray, said.

About Wild Goose
Wild Goose is a festival at the intersection of justice, spirituality, music and art that was inspired by the U.K.’s Greenbelt festival, a Woodstock-style event run annually for over three decades.

During Wild Goose’s debut last year, Jim Wallis, T-Bone Burnett, Phyllis Tickle, Vincent Harding, Over the Rhine, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Brian McLaren, Peggy & Tony Campolo, Inter-varsity Press, Restoring Eden, Michelle Shocked, William Barber, Jim Forbes, Gabriel Salguero, Paul Fromberg, Lynne Hybels and 1700 others met at the intersection of justice, spirituality, music and art. They sang, learned, taught, argued, prayed, ate, danced and imagined a new world.

More information is available at wildgoosefestival.org. For further information or to set up an interview, please contact Head of Communications, writer Sarah Cunningham at sarah@wildgoosefestival.org.

Contact:
Sarah
Wild Goose Festival
P.O. Box 1029 Durham,
NC 27702
517-879-6718
sarah@wildgoosefestival.org
http://www.wildgoosefestival.org/