Former world champion water skier and Greenville native, Kristi Overton Johnson,

will host a Festival of Hope at Wildwood Park in Greenville, NC, on Saturday,

September 30th.

This free, family-oriented community event will showcase the extraordinary athletic skills of world-class water skiers, world-record-holder basketball handlers, Pro Town BMX riders, offering local food and entertainment, and providing inspirational messages by local champions of hope, Lauren Mirra Everett, Parker Byrd, and Kristi Overton Johnson.

Everett and Byrd will share the keys to overcoming the trials of life. In 2016, Everett unexpectedly lost her husband, world-renowned BMX rider Dave Mirra. In 2022, Byrd, a rising ECU baseball player, lost his leg in a boating accident that put his baseball career on hold. Overton Johnson will close out the event with an inspiring message of hope.

In 2013, Overton Johnson traded water ski lakes for prison yards to deliver hope and life skills to the incarcerated through her ministry’s Victorious Living Prison Outreaches.

Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023

Location: Wildwood Park, 3450 Blue Heron Drive, Greenville, NC

Time: Gates open at 1, event 2-5 pm. The first exhibition begins at 2:00 pm sharp.

Cost: Free! Donations received on-site will support KOJ Ministries.

Food: Food trucks on-site; food for purchase.

Other: Free Chick-fil-A sandwich for the first 200 attendees! Exciting giveaways.

For more information about the Festival of Hope or to secure an interview with Kristi Overton Johnson, contact Mr. Pat Avery at 352-478-2098 or email pat@kojministries.org. Event sponsorship opportunities are available.