On Saturday, the fourth annual Rock the Cross festival will allow people from the community to come together and raise awareness regarding suicide prevention.

Angela Poteet, youth director with Northside Free Will Baptist Church, which is coordinating the event, said although school supplies will be collected for needy children, the festival focuses mainly on “giving hope” to the community rather than providing charity directly.

This year the event is committed to raising suicide awareness and focusing on suicide prevention, she said. 

“Our community has been hit a couple times by suicide so we decided to help out the community in that regard,” she said, referring to the 12 suicides that occurred in Warren County last year.

Rock the Cross will include performances from Christian bands Purpose Driven, Restored by Grace, Nailed Too, Christian rapper LaRon and Michael Cochren and Company.

Though their participation hasn’t been confirmed, Poteet is also working toward getting Dove Award winner Jamie Grace and Morgan Harper Nichols to perform at the event. 

Rock the Cross will take place at Ephram White Park near the pavilion and is scheduled to run from 1 to 8 p.m. Admission is free.

Gifts of Praise, a local faith-based arts group, will MC the event.  

Felicia Bland, cofounder of Gifts of Praise, said the group uses music, dance and skits to teach biblical lessons and life lessons. She will speak about suicide at Rock the Cross. 

“We will just be talking about solutions for suicide and anyone who might be hurting,” she said. “We all have been led in this direction because our community needs to heal.”  

She said the event is a chance for the community to get together to feel safe and spiritually united.  

Though Rock the Cross is an idea that members of Northside came up with, the festival is working to “become its own entity” separate from any specific church in an effort to make the event as inclusive as possible, Poteet said.

“Each year it’s gradually grown,” she said.

Roughly 200 people attended Rock the Cross in its first year and 600 to 800 attended last year, Poteet said. 

“Our anticipation is over 1,000 (this year),” she said, adding that attendance could rise to somewhere around 2,000 or 3,000 if Grace and Nichols perform.  

— Follow Daily News reporter Jackson French on Twitter @Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.