Oshkosh Christian music festival increases security ahead of kick off

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) - The deadly shooting in Highland Park at the Fourth of July parade has sparked events, including Lifest in Oshkosh, to increase their security measures.

Organizers for the Christian music festival say security is their top priority.

Lifest is spread out over four days and is expected to attract people from 38 states to watch 100 Christian artists perform at the Sunnyview Expo Center.

“The whole stadium here holds 30,000 people,” Lifest Festival Director John Dougherty said looking at the main stage and bleachers.

Besides a few seats reserved for people with special tickets, attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs.

The large gathering of people, however, keeps safety at the forefront of planning.

“It is something that keeps me up at night unfortunately,” Dougherty said. “We always have a good plan. We’ve got spotters to keep an eye on things. We got different patrols that go around. People who are just aware more now of what to look for, and who to tell in the event that something is not right.”

Monday’s deadly shooting that claimed the lives of seven people in the Chicago area suburb of Highland Park, and the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack that killed six, forced Dougherty to add more security.

“We’ve completely shutdown all of our large population areas to vehicle traffic. We’ve used giant concrete barriers,” Dougherty said. “We actually have professional security at the gates and we’ve actually upped the number of people on security.”

Dougherty says no place is 100 percent safe but his team tries its best to host a secure, family-friendly event for all those who attend.

One traveling carnival vendor ranks Lifest as one of the safest festivals.

“You don’t feel like, ‘oh I have to watch my back all the time,’” Amanda Bast of Charlie’s said. “[You can] just be able to enjoy yourself and actually mingle with customers outside the stands.”

Bast is the sixth-generation of a family that sells fair food. Her grandparents met at a fair as kids.

“They grew up doing fairs. My grandma with a cotton candy stand who used to sell snow cones to my grandfather,” she said.

From Independence Day to Labor Day it’s non-stop work, yet Bast looks forward to Lifest due to its safety.

Lifest goes on until Sunday morning. For more information, here’s a link to the festival’s website: https://lifest.com/oshkosh/

Copyright 2022 WBAY. All rights reserved.