Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press Thousands of Christians crowd Agape Farm yesterday in Shirleysburg for Creation Fest '05. Click photo for larger image.

SHIRLEYSBURG, Huntingdon County -- Attendance at Creation Fest '05 is the highest in the 27-year history of the event, organizers said yesterday.

The event, billed as the nation's largest Christian music festival, opened Wednesday with an estimated 85,000 people in attendance, up 15 percent from last year's opening day, press coordinator Anita Crawford said yesterday.

This year's festival, which features an Internet cafe, prayer tents and fireworks, had its first full day yesterday and continues through Sunday.

Among those traveling long distances was Dana Landin, who went to the 1994 festival and drove 12 hours from his home in Algonquin, Ill., to bring his children to this year's event.

"I was a youth pastor then. Now I brought my kids. I guess they're my youth group," Landin said. "It's good for my kids to see thousands of other teens worshipping God and being into Christian music."