Illinois Wesleyan University's Westbrook Auditorium today was filled with joyful noises as IWU and the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal presented the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday Gospel Festival.
The festival honored King’s legacy and featured performances by The United Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal Mass Choir, The Gayles Memorial Baptist Mass Choir and Praise Dancers of Aurora, The Fantastic Jones Family of Springfield, and The Family Choir of Harvey, Illinois.
Additional performers included Mount Pisgah Sunbeam Choir, Union Missionary Baptist Church Junior Gospel Quartet, Union Missionary Baptist Church Adult Choir, Mount Pisgah Praise Dancers, and Mount Pisgah Adult Choir.
The Gospel Festival was founded in 1991 by the late Corine Sims and her husband, the Rev. James Sims, with Illinois Wesleyan and the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal as co-founders. King spoke at Illinois Wesleyan in 1961 and returned to the University in 1966 after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.