YAKIMA, Wash. -- A fest it was.

More than 21,000 people surged into State Fair Park over the weekend to participate in Yakima Valley CityFest, a Christian-based family event.

"It was wonderful, a historic event," said Gustavo Carvajal, pastor of Cristo Vive Fellowship of the First Presbyterian Church of Yakima and a member of the CityFest executive committee.

Evangelist Luis Palau of Beaverton, Ore., was the main attraction, addressing the gathering both days -- in Spanish on Saturday and in English on Sunday.

Born in Argentina and now a U.S. citizen, Palau, 76, worked for Billy Graham before starting his own ministry. His organization estimates he has shared the Gospel with a billion people around the world in his 58 years of preaching.

"It was truly one of the most memorable and successful events I've had the pleasure of working on," said Randy Burtis, festival director and an employee of the Luis Palau Association. This was his 27th festival.

In anticipation of CityFest, churches, civic leaders and service organizations meshed together to perform service projects around the Valley, called Season of Service.

Those projects will no doubt continue, said Mayor Micah Cawley, who spoke at the fest Sunday.

"Dr. Palau's team came here and united the churches, united the community and united us to keep on going," Cawley said.

"We need to continue," agreed Manuel Luquin, pastor of Comunidad Cristiana at the First Baptist Church of Yakima, and also a member of the fest executive committee. "It was a blessing to see Yakima and the churches come together for the community."

It was an impressive gathering, noted Sandie Graves, a member of New Hope Community Church of the Nazarene, who attended Sunday. "It was a very well put together event, and the music was wonderful," she said.

Carvajal said that Palau's message of change was relevant and well received. "He touched people's lives, and I believe their lives will be changed."

The response to Palau was "phenomenal," said Luquin: "It was a joy to see those who came forward to Christ, whole families."

Cawley said he was inspired by not only the turnout and cooperation for the free event, but also by Palau himself. The two met before Sunday's appearance and talked about how to address some of the city's problems.

"He's sincere, humble and cares about what he's doing," Cawley said.

"(Palau) has a heart for people," agreed Brian Campfield, who volunteered both days with the video crew.

Most everything went off without a hitch, Campfield said, even with a sell-out crowd Sunday night in an unrelated event next door in the SunDome: an Elton John concert.

Campfield was one of more than 700 volunteers who helped run the fest; among other duties, they worked backstage, performed security, served food and worked in Compassion Connect, providing free social services.

All told, said Burtis, some 4,000 volunteers participated in some aspect of the fest or on Season of Service projects.

"You have really hard-working volunteers in Yakima," he said.

So, will there be another CityFest here?

A major event isn't likely anytime soon, Carvajal said. "Bringing together 113 churches is a major production, so not in the near future. But Season of Service, that could happen on a yearly basis."

That's exactly what the Luis Palau Association hopes, said Burtis.

Yakima made a good impression on Palau, Burtis noted, because of the way everyone worked together, the enthusiastic crowds and the acceptance from the city in general.

Still, there was another reason, Burtis added. Other cities have promised to sign up national figures to appear with Palau in their city fests but until now none had delivered, he explained.

"Only Yakima has come through. You brought in Elton John as the closing act," Burtis joked.

"Yakima will go down in history," he said.

* Jane Gargas can be reached at 509-577-7690 or jgargas@yakimaherald.com.