KEARNY-The Archdiocesan Youth Retreat Center, 499 Belgrove Dr., will host "Youth-Fest 2007" on March 24 and the ninth-annual "Rejoice" prayer festival on April 20-22.

YouthFest, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will feature singer/song writer/story teller Steve Angrisano. The theme of the event will be "Go Make a Difference," an affirmation that faith-filled young adults have the capacity to change the world.

Contact Rich Donovan at (201) 998-0088, ext. 4155 for more information. Registration is $25 a person for all youth participants and $15 for adults.

Since 1998 the "Rejoice" youth retreat and prayer festival has been a powerful means of evangelizing youth and has grown to be the single-largest retreat in the Archdiocese of Newark. Young adults, during the retreat and festival, experience the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. They gather together in prayer around the Blessed Sacrament sharing their faith gaining strength and comfort through spiritual outpouring of their peers.

The John Flynn Band will provide music for the festival. The group performs internationally and has made appearances on various TV programs including EWTN'S "Life on the Rock."

Rejoice is a co-ed retreat geared for young adults over the age of 15. The cost of registration for the event is $45 per person for the entire weekend, which includes food and lodging.

For a registration form and more information go to the Web site www.newarkoym.org call Judy Furka, at (201) 998-0088, ext. 4148.

Other upcoming events at the center include the workshop "Sharing Faith with Young Adolescents" on Thursday, March 29, which is designed for youth ministers and coordinators of religious education programs who work with students in grades six to eight.