GRANITEVILLE — Megiddo Dream Station's 92-foot-tall white cross is well on its way to becoming a popular local attraction after being erected in the back of the Graniteville Cemetery on March 27.
"The response has been phenomenal," said Megiddo Executive Director Kay Benitez. "Hundreds of cars are going through (the cemetery) each day."
A dedication and lighting ceremony for the cross, which is made of steel and weighs 33,000 pounds, will be held in the cemetery Thursday.
The event is free and open to the public.
The program will start at 6:30 p.m., and Benitez recommended that people start to gather near the cross at 6 p.m.
Nicole Goforth, chairwoman of Megiddo's executive board, will deliver the opening address. Also scheduled to speak are Todd Sessions, the pastor at Graniteville First Baptist Church; Stephen Phillips, the lead pastor at Christian Heritage Church; Kyle Poole, the senior pastor at Midland Valley Community Church of the Nazarene; Wes Holbrook, the pastor at Cedar Creek Church's west campus; and Benitez.
Theresa Thompson will sing, and Mike McAdory will play the saxophone.
The lighting system for the cross will be turned on afterward.
T-shirts commemorating the event, wooden replicas of the cross and paintings of the cross will be sold. The proceeds will benefit Megiddo, a nonprofit that helps underemployed and unemployed adults become better job candidates.
The Graniteville Cemetery is on Gregg Highway. The cross is close to the William Gregg monument.
Dede Biles is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the newspaper since January 2013. A native of Concord, N.C., she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.