Winterfest guests ring in 2019 with renewed spiritual focus

Thousands of spectators attended Sunday’s and Monday’s 17th annual Winterfest at Liberty University’s Vines Center, the largest Christian New Year’s celebration on the East Coast.

TobyMac, a 1988 Liberty alumnus, was the headline performer on Sunday, returning to Winterfest for the first time since 2012, before Skillet rocked in the new year with its high-energy show highlighted by powerful vocals and pyrotechnics.

Other onstage acts included uplifting praise from the Liberty Worship Collective as well as diverse genres of music from Social Club Misfits and FF5 on the first night and Humble Tip, KB, and I Am They on New Year’s Eve. Guests also were entertained by a BMX stunt team and Lady Houdini, one of the premier escape artists in the country.

More than 600 guests answered altar calls from primary speakers Rick Gage (’98) and Brody Holloway and 70 made first-time decisions for Jesus Christ. A record-high 450 youth leaders and students attended breakout sessions led by Holloway and Liberty School of Divinity Professors Dr. David Wheeler and Dr. Richard Brown that developed their leadership skills and encouraged them in their faith.

Outside of the Vines Center, visitors attended artist Q & As and enjoyed a wide range of recreational offerings, including skiing, snowboarding, and tubing at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, skateboarding at the Liberty Mountain Skate Park, ice skating at the LaHaye Ice Center, bowling at the Montview Bowling Alley, and rock climbing at the LaHaye Recreation & Fitness Center.