MagniFest, an outdoor music and praise event featuring live musical performances, will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 2 to 10 p.m. at St. Mary of Providence Center, 227 Isabella Road, Elverson. Also featured will be food, vendors and children's activities. Mass will be celebrated at 5 p.m. by the Rev. Shaun Mahoney.

The headliner will be singer-songwriter Marie Miller, a recording artist from Nashville, Tenn. Miller is a folk and pop singer who performed for Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia. She opened for the Backstreet Boys, toured with American Idol winner Kris Allen and Five for Fighting, and had songs featured on pop radio and ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." "She is a Catholic singer-songwriter who has performed in Philadelphia a number of times over the years," said event organizer Beth Riordan.

Other performers at MagniFest will be singer/songwriter Sarah Carpenter; Jacob Springer, a music educator and performer from Phoenixville, who is an accomplished trumpet player; and the duet of Hanna Mangiovillano and Pat Briley. Mangiovillano is a songwriter, a worship leader and an artist from Downingtown, and Briley is a songwriter and musician from Salinas, Calif. Also featured will be Saints Alive, which includes local musicians Gus deSimone and the Rev. Hyacinth Cordell, a Dominican Friar who will perform a drum solo.

All performances will take place outdoors. "We will set up a stage behind the Dalton Retreat House, which is located on the north side of the campus," noted Riordan. Attendees should bring blankets or lawn chairs for seating.

Vendors will be located in the upper parking lot. "We have a good number of vendors," said Riordan. Among the items offered for sale will be youth clothing and clothing for children, birth to age 6; silver jewelry from India; accessories; prayer journals; photos, both framed and unframed; wood carvings, including trays and inspirational pieces; books in English and Spanish; quilted items such as wall hangings; and oil and acrylic paintings. Some of the musicians will offer CDs for sale.

"There will be a prayer table for people who would like pray for anything or anyone," Riordan noted. "People can write down their intentions and put them in a prayer box or pray right there. We will have a team praying all day."

Food will be served in a cafe located across from the Dalton Retreat House. "There will be some games for children set up this year and face painting," Riordan noted.

The MagniFest is named to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Magnificat, also known as the Song of Mary, is the prayer of praise that Mary prayed when visiting her cousin Elizabeth. The timing of the festival is based on the celebration of the Feast of the Assumption on Aug. 15, which marks Mary's ascension into heaven.

"We had a couple hundred people last year, but we are hoping for 500 since we have brought in Marie Miller," Riordan said.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.stmaryprov.org/magnifest or search for "MagniFest" or "St. Mary of Providence Center" on Facebook. Those with questions may email magnifest@stmaryprov.org.