Sharing the Good News through the Performing Arts 1995-2025
Please scroll below for details:
About Preparing
About Traffic Control & Parking
About Giving
About Volunteering (we need help!)
About Refreshments
About the Event Schedule
About the Artists
About Jacob’s Well
About the future WIHS Amphitheater
About Promotions (please talk it up!)
About Our Sponsors
One musical era ends and another begins!
On Saturday, July 19 from 1-4 pm, Celebrating 30 Years of Jacob’s Well Coffeehouse will be held shine or rain.
If the weather is decent, the celebration will be held outdoors in the future WIHS Amphitheater behind WIHS 104.9 FM, 1933 South Main Street in Middletown. There is “unlimited” seating capacity.
If it rains, the event will be moved to VOX Church, 2.5 miles north of WIHS at 653 South Main Street. Seating capacity is limited to 250.
To symbolize and reflect God’s free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Christ, parking and admission are free. There are no tickets. Bring family, friends, co-workers, church members, and neighbors!
This is a first in several ways
This is truly “groundbreaking!” It’s the first free, live concert at WIHS in our history!
This is also the first time we’ve ever Broadcasted Remotely from outside the four walls of our studios! (During Faith Sharing in March, we cast the vision for obtaining this equipment through a generous Matching Gift, and listeners responded.) Praise God!
About Preparing
Please PRAY for God’s Favor upon this event! Please pray for good weather! Please pray for volunteers! Please pray for all of the logistics and expenses! Please pray for safety! Please pray for all who will be traveling! Please pray that many souls will come and be inspired, comforted and encouraged! Please pray that we will worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth! Please pray for souls to be saved! Please pray that the Lord will be lifted up high in Connecticut through all that we do!
To learn more about the parking, please scroll down to the site layout.
At the outdoor venue, which is a sloped pasture-like field surrounded by trees, guests will be facing WEST, so the sun will be setting “at” you. We encourage you to COME PREPARED as you would if you were going to the beach or to any outdoor festival.
–If you prefer some shelter, bring a beach umbrella that you can post in the ground or a 10×10 popup tent with stakes.
–Protect your head, eyes and body: bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.
–In case you get sweaty, bring a towel.
–We treated the field professionally to minimize bugs, but it would be wise to bring bug spray or a hand-held tennis racket-style bug zapper as back-ups.
–Bring folding chairs and/or blankets.
–Bring your own sandwiches and snacks.
–Bring your non-alcoholic beverages (water, soda, iced teas).
–Bring your cooler. Remember that you will need to walk from the parking area down the hill a bit to the ampitheater area, so use a small shoulder-mounted cooler, a cooler with handle(s) or a cooler with a handle and wheels!
–Bring a few Band-Aids and ointment for minor scrapes or cuts (we are making arrangements to have a medical tent staffed by at least one trained nurse or EMT).
About Traffic Control & Parking
South Main Street (State Route 17) in Middletown is a fairly heavily-used road, so we have hired a Middletown police officer with cruiser to be on-hand to direct traffic in/out of the WIHS driveway. We are reserving several paved parking spaces for people with accessibility needs. Our main parking area will be a grass field, similar to when you go to a country fair.
We estimate that we have capacity for about 280 cars on-site; we’ve also made arrangements with our industrial neighbor, Eco-Waste, to utilize their private road, Trigo Drive (directly south of our facility) for overflow parallel parking of about 30 cars.
While you’re on-site, be sure to visit the WIHS tent to meet staff, take program guides, gospel tracts, pens, window clings, bumper stickers, bracelets etc., and sign up for our popular e-newsletter.
About Giving
People may listen to WIHS and come to this event for “free.” If you are led by the Holy Spirit to support us financially, we will have QR Code lawn signs located in the Ampitheater which you can use to give online. We will also have a donation box at the WIHS tent. If you would like to give “now” as you are reading this content, click here!
About Volunteering
Thank you to those who have reached out to help! We still need more volunteers for the following tasks:
–Thursday/Friday prior to the event: measuring, staking and yellow-taping the parking areas.
–Saturday morning: setting up trash and recycling bins; setting up orange cones to direct drivers to the parking area; setting up popup tents and tables for artists and WIHS; helping with stage setup. Assisting vendors (porta-potties, portable stage, sound company) with any logistical needs they may have.
–Saturday late morning to late afternoon: parking and hospitality assistants; VIP chaperones for artists.
–Saturday late afternoon/early evening: breakdown of site (parking stakes and tape, cleanup of the field, trash and recycling bin collection, general assistance as needed.
If you’re interested, please call Drew Crandall directly at 860.871.6500 (work line) or email him at dcrandall@keeptouch.com.
Drew will be creating a “master plan” and reaching out to volunteers with times and assignments during the week of July 6.
About Refreshments
As of today, there will be NO food trucks on-site. However, we are in conversation with one truck pending their permit approval by the City of Middletown Health Department. We will make website and social media posts if this becomes reality.
Thanks to a Thrivent Action Team grant, WIHS will have a supply of free bottled waters at the WIHS tent if you run out of your beverages and need to stay hydrated.
Mama Mia’s Ice Cream Truck, a popular local vendor, will swing by twice during our event selling various ice cream treats.
About the Event Schedule:
12:00 noon and 12:30 pm: Prior to the event start, Matt Harper, WIHS General Manager, will give two scheduled “first-come, first-served” station tours. Attendance is limited, so if you want to participate, arrive a bit early. After you park, walk over to the main entrance to the station.
Please note: Other than these two tours, there will be NO PUBLIC ACCESS inside the WIHS facility. On the paved parking lot near the front door, we’ll have three porta-potties for public use.
1 pm: Matt Harper will welcome the crowd and open the event in prayer.
1:05 pm: Drew Crandall will serve as emcee.
1:15 – 2:15 pm: Gospel Doo-Wop by Walter Santos! Walter will also share his profound testimony of God’s Amazing Grace. Over the years, Walter was one of the most popular artists at Jacob’s Well. He also performed several times at JesusFest and was the keynote speaker/singer at the WIHS Celebrate Jesus Gala & Expo in 2021.
2:15 – 2:30 pm: Intermission. Walter Santos and Dave Pettigrew will have merch tables near the main stage where you may meet them, purchase CDs and various merchandise, and sign up for child sponsorships.
2:30 – 3:30 pm: Praise & Worship led by Dave Pettigrew! Dave will also share his passion for child sponsorships.
3:30 – 3:45 pm: Gospel message and invitation led by Drew Crandall.
3:45 to 3:55 pm: Introducing the premiere of the new WIHS praise band, In His Service to reflect the WIHS call letters featuring (l to r) Cat Leigh and Gerry Williams on vocals, Daniel Harper on keyboards, and Drew Crandall on percussion.
3:55 pm: Closing prayer by Arno Groot featuring his beautiful rendition of The Lord’s Prayer on the saxophone. Arno has closed Jacob’s Well Coffeehouse for many years. He is a fitting person to officially “end” the 30-year era of Jacob’s Well!
4 pm: Before you leave, Walter Santos and Dave Pettigrew will have merch tables near the main stage where you may meet them, purchase CDs and various merchandise, and sign up for child sponsorships.
About the Artists
Walter Santos grew up in New York City and became a talented live concert and studio percussionist, performing with Weather Report, Charlie Daniels, Marshall Tucker and The Outlaws. However, the fast life of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll led him to drug addiction. On the precipice of destruction and jail, his life was radically transformed. Santos is now a pastor at a church in New Jersey.
Dave Pettigrew is a gifted contemporary worship leader, singer, keyboardist, recording artist and author from New Jersey. Over the years, he has opened for and toured with Mercy Me, For King & Country, Jeremy Camp, Big Daddy Weave, Sidewalk Prophets, Michael W. Smith, Paul Baloche, Phil Wickham, Rend Collective, Brandon Heath, Tenth Avenue North, Jason Gray, Unspoken and many others.
Arno Groot is well-known in statewide recovery ministries and has closed Jacob’s Well coffeehouses with his beautiful rendition of The Lord’s Prayer on the saxophone for many years. He resides in Ellington.
In His Service is a new praise band formed to be ambassadors for WIHS Christian Radio. The initial members of the band include Gerry Williams and Cat Leigh on vocals, Daniel Harper on keyboards and Drew Crandall on percussion.
For years, Gerry Williams sang with a four-part harmony quartet. He is a gifted singer, orator, actor and comedian, but he is best known for being co-host of Morning Cheer, our weekday morning drivetime show. He lives in Hartford and worships at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield.
Cat Leigh leads worship at Northford Community Church in Northford, and has sung at Jacob’s Well several times as a soloist or part of a group. She sings at various events in the area and lives in Bristol.
Daniel Harper, son of WIHS GM Matt Harper, worships at Truth Baptist Church in South Windsor and lives in Ellington. He is a singer and songwriter in pursuit of God’s heart. To date, he has released two original singles, “Here to Stay” and “Waste My Time.” Daniel loves holding concerts in coffee shops and living rooms, while leading worship for ministry gatherings around the state and in his church on Sundays. His music is played on local Christian radio, where he has also played and sung live as a studio guest.
On WIHS, Drew Crandall hosts Family Prayer Circle on a rotation basis and hosts The Salt Mine, a weekday drivetime segment at 8:25 am to encourage and equip believers to be Christlike at work. He has played percussion in praise bands at Ellington Wesleyan Church, First Baptist Church of Tolland, and Union Church. He worships at Holland Church in Holland, Massachusetts and lives in Ellington.
About Jacob’s Well Coffeehouse
Looking in the rearview mirror, Jacob’s Well Christian Coffeehouse was created by two Baby Boomers who experienced coffeehouses in the 1970s. Drew and Dawn Crandall were persuaded that coffeehouse ministry was still a relevant and effective way to share the Good News of Jesus through the performing arts. From 1995-2007, the coffeehouse was held at Ellington Wesleyan Church. From 2008-2024, it was held at Union Church in Rockville. Altogether, over 325 free monthly coffeehouses were held featuring an eclectic mix of local, regional, national and international Christian performing artists. Hundreds of souls have placed their faith in Christ and made recommitments to Him.
About the future WIHS Amphitheater
Looking ahead in the windshield, WIHS Christian Radio’s property includes a 7.5-acre sloped field that lends itself well to become an amphitheater for Christian concerts and festivals. The July 19 event is a test of concept. In the future, we envision making site enhancements and constructing a permanent stage (in the very top left corner of the site layout plan) for concerts, festivals and outreaches.
Please help us to get the word out by using the image and PDF document below!
We’re getting the word out through many print, radio, TV and digital communication platforms, but we need your help! Please get the word out by copying / pasting / posting the image below, downloading and printing the PDF flyer below, forwarding our Facebook posts to family and friends, and talking it up!
About Our Sponsors
