It is the end of March, and it is time for Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) to host the annual Festival of Life (FOL) event in cooperation with the Eastern Field Nazarene Youth International (NYI). FOL brings together about 450 youth, as well as adults, to participate in different competitive events and worship experiences.

The Festival of Life at Eastern Nazarene College, from March 28 to March 31, serves teenagers from eight districts that make up the Eastern Field of the Church of the Nazarene to embrace Christ and connect with their talents and interests for the sake of the Kingdom. For ENC, it is a great opportunity to get students, including prospective students, connected with the Christian college.

The teenagers of the eight districts compete in athletics and recreational competitions as well as grow closer to God. The participating students are in grades eight through twelve and must be affiliated with a local Nazarene church within the Eastern Field. They can be on the roster of only one team per sport.

Students will be able to compete in team sports like basketball, soccer, dodgeball, ultimate Frisbee and volleyball. Teams will wear their own, unaltered uniforms with numbers in designated district colors.

As for academic and recreational competition, table tennis, chess, and math/science quizzing will be offered. Table tennis and chess will be single competitions, while the math/science quizzing is a group contest.

Since the event is Kingdom orientated, Christian communication is the main focus at FOL. There will be group activities such as the vocal choir, vocal group, instrumental group, or group drama. Furthermore, teenagers can participate in keyboard solo, instrumental solo, vocal solo, painting, interpretive worship, and much more. Brad Zarges, interim vice president of student development, and Katie Stade are taking care of finding volunteers for the events.

The participating students will sleep in area hotels for three nights and receive cafeteria meals from Thursday night until Saturday at noon. Everything is arranged for an exciting and Christ-centered Festival of Life at ENC.