Sheldon, Iowa — Each summer a temporary stage has been constructed for the RiseFest Christian Music Festival in Sheldon. Thursday when the Sheldon Board of Adjustment met, they voted to grant a variance to help clear the way for a permanent stage structure to be built on the RiseFest grounds. The proposed 4,000 square foot building is to be 41 feet high. That’s six feet higher than is allowed by the zoning in that area. The Federal Aviation Administration has already stated that this structure does not exceed obstruction standards and would not be a hazard to air navigation. It was also noted that RiseFest has agreed to plant a row of trees along their north border to preserve the value of the adjacent Van Marel property.
Rob Roozeboom is founder and president of Rise Ministries, the organization behind RiseFest, and he says the idea of a permanent stage began when the RiseFest grounds were acquired.
(As above) “We saw some of the infrastructure that we put out last year and it was like, man, if we could get a stage that that would be awesome and it really all started a couple years ago with the the stage at the Lakes there was a stage up there that was no longer going to be used and we heard that you know could it be a possibility to get that donated and moved, and so after about two years of working on that we found out that getting it moved wasn’t going to be a reality the way we thought it would and so we started having a conversation what about building something from the ground up?”
He says the cost of renting a stage each year for RiseFest is just one of the reasons for a permanent stage.
(As above) “Because it cost quite a few dollars to rent a stage year after year, plus the Manpower plus to put it up take it down and then it’s there for the one event if you have a permanent structure like I said earlier are there more events that maybe could take place out there plus when you do a permanent stage structure I mean let’s be honest we’ve had some weather out there and things like that that now we can get it built stronger and rated for not that I want to say this but even heavier winds, cuz we’ve been known to have those from time to time out at the festival. There’s a lot into the decision the process the wanting of the why to put up a permanent structure from cost Manpower a structure that will with withhold stronger winds to the opportunity to maybe doing some some other things out there.”
There were no objections to the variance filed or spoken to the Board of Adjustment. Larry Rosenboom of Rosenboom Machine and Tool commented on the value of RiseFest to Sheldon as a growing community.
RiseFest is held each Father’s Day Weekend at the RiseFest grounds, located just north of the junction of Highway 18 and Country Club Road in Sheldon.
Construction of the new stage building is expected to begin this spring with an estimated completion date of June 15th at an estimated cost of $510,000.
