CSUB to hold Gospel Fest on Jan. 30

The rafters will ring with a joyful noise on Friday evening when California State University, Bakersfield holds its eighth-annual Gospel Fest. The free event will take place at 6 p.m. in the Harvey Auditorium at Bakersfield High School.

"Gospel Fest is more than a concert," said Natasha Harris, Gospel Fest organizer and director of the Educational Opportunity Program at CSUB. "It's a celebration that brings the CSUB campus and community together to kick off Black History Month and remind us of the strength, resilience and unity that continue to carry our community forward."

The groups set to perform are from Church of God, Bakersfield; Pleasant View Missionary Baptist Church; Cain Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church; Living Victory Church Faithful Praise Dance Team; Greater Harvest Christian Center; and St. John Missionary Baptist Church.

New this year is the Gospel Fest Mass Choir, a grand finale that will bring together choir members from the performing churches as well as others from the community, who will join their voices in praise.

The concert features churches involved in CSUB's annual Super Sunday outreach, which sends campus leaders to traditionally Black churches in Bakersfield and surrounding communities to share with young members of the congregations the opportunities that come with a university degree. This year, Super Sunday falls on Feb. 23.

"One of the pillars that we have adopted as Kern County's University is the importance of faith in the lives of so many families in our community," said President Vernon B. Harper Jr. "Gospel Fest and Super Sunday are great opportunities for us to connect with the faith community, and we are building on that momentum with the creation of CSUB's Faith and Education initiative. We are meeting with faith leaders now and working together to increase college attendance rates in Kern County."