Winnipeg, MN - Rock the River is taking over The Forks in downtown Winnipeg on Saturday, Sept. 17 with a morning event for families, and an afternoon and evening music festival for youth.

The day starts with KidzFest at 10:00 a.m. – two hours of family fun led by children’s entertainers (including singers, dancers and a magician) – on the Scotiabank Stage.

From 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., popular Christian rock and hip-hop bands take the stage. There will be Canadian acts Thousand Foot Krutch, Fresh IE and Starfield, plus Flame and The Letter Black. Between these acts will be brief, challenging messages from Franklin Graham, son of famed Christian evangelist Billy Graham.

Admission to all Rock the River events is free, the media is welcome to attend and complete media kits will be available on-site.

Interviews with artists can be arranged through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada (BGEAC), which has organized Rock the River in partnership with more than 130 southern Manitoba churches. Interviews with Franklin Graham can be arranged through Todd Shearer, 404.314.4206.

This is the third and final stop on the 2011 Rock the River Tour. Other events took place last month in Milwaukee and Denver. Last year, the tour went through Calgary, Edmonton and BC’s Fraser Valley, attracting more than 26,000 people of all ages.

For more information on Rock the River, please go to rocktherivertour.ca.