A Celebration of Community and Faith: Life Fest 2025 Unites Diss
The fourth annual Life Fest transformed Diss Park into a vibrant celebration of community and faith on August 30, drawing record crowds from the local area. What began as a modest gathering in 2022 has evolved into a significant cultural event for the town, while maintaining its core vision of being both “fun-filled and faith-filled,” according to organizer Ben Mansfield from Diss Baptist Church. The free festival, which represents the accessibility of faith itself, created a welcoming atmosphere where people from all walks of life could come together, enjoy outstanding music, and experience a sense of community connection in the beautiful outdoor setting.
This year’s festival marked a meaningful expansion of church partnerships, with Fressingfield Baptist Church contributing their Youth Band and Dove River Church from Eye hosting a creative arts venue. These collaborations enhanced not only the festival’s entertainment offerings but also embodied a spirit of unity among different congregations working toward a common purpose. A new addition to the event—a football cage overseen by Integrate Youth For Christ—proved immensely popular, remaining busy throughout the afternoon and providing young attendees with an engaging athletic outlet alongside the day’s cultural and spiritual activities.
Music formed the beating heart of Life Fest 2025, with a diverse lineup that catered to various tastes and sensibilities. Returning favorites like Beth Merill from Bedford, Gwil Davey from Norwich, and local talent MC J Messy from Diss delighted attendees with familiar sounds, while newcomers brought fresh energy to the celebration. The debut performances of local pop/rock band LetzFly, singer-songwriter-rapper Zach G Wilson from Reading, and the lo-fi electro indie duo Jayne and Levi from York created what Mansfield described as “an amazing soundscape” that resonated throughout the park, fostering connections among festivalgoers through the universal language of music.
The decision to make Life Fest free to attend reflects a deeper philosophical commitment by the organizers. “The gift of salvation in Jesus Christ is free,” explained Mansfield, drawing a parallel between the festival’s accessibility and the core Christian message it seeks to share. This approach eliminates financial barriers that might otherwise prevent community members from participating in the celebration, making the event truly inclusive. The no-cost model also emphasizes that the festival’s primary currency is not monetary but relational—creating spaces for meaningful interactions, shared experiences, and community building across diverse segments of the town’s population.
Behind the scenes, a dedicated team of volunteers made the event possible, embodying the service-oriented ethos at the heart of the festival’s mission. These individuals contributed their time, energy, and talents to handle everything from setup and teardown to running activity stations and ensuring safety throughout the day. Their collective effort transformed what might otherwise be simply a concert in the park into a cohesive community experience that left a lasting impression on attendees. The success of Life Fest 2025 rests largely on these volunteers’ shoulders, demonstrating how individual contributions combine to create something greater than the sum of their parts.
As the sun set on Diss Park at the conclusion of the festival, organizers and participants alike could reflect on what Mansfield enthusiastically declared “the best year yet” for Life Fest. The event succeeded not merely as entertainment but as a manifestation of community solidarity, interfaith cooperation, and shared human experience. As planning inevitably begins for next year’s festival, the foundation has been laid for continued growth—not necessarily in scale, but in depth of impact and breadth of community involvement. Life Fest has established itself as more than just an annual event on the Diss calendar; it has become a meaningful tradition that nurtures the social and spiritual fabric of the town, creating memories and connections that extend far beyond a single summer day in the park.
