RAPID CITY - High temperatures that are expected to last through the week didn't keep people from attending the 22^nd annual Hills Alive festival Saturday at Memorial Park.

The high temperature in Rapid City rose to 98 degrees with relative humidity hovering slightly below 20 percent in the middle of the day. The high didn't come near last week's high temperature of 109 degrees or the high during last year's Hills Alive festival of 111 degrees, which set the record high temperature for Rapid City.

Sarah Clark, 19, of Gillette, Wyo., said she wasn't going to change her mind about attending the Christian music festival because she expected the hot weather.

"It's mid-July. I don't think the hot weather is any surprise," she said.

Clark came with her cousin Ryan Walters who said he comes to Hills Alive every year.

"I've come before and it always seems to be hot weather this weekend," he said. "It doesn't keep me from coming back."

Clark and Walters tried their best to beat the heat by sitting in the shade or creating their own shade with an umbrella, they also drank lots of water.

"We don't sit out here all day long," Clark said. "If there is a band we're not really interested in, than we'll leave for a little while to cool off."

The National Weather Service forecast for next week predicts the hot weather to get even hotter and stick around for most of the week. A blocking pattern is expected to hold temperatures above 100 degrees for most of the week with few chances for precipitation.

Temperatures might not have reached the record highs of the previous week, but higher relative humidity made it feel just as hot outside.

Sunday is predicted to be mostly sunny with a high of 99 degrees. Officials expect high temperatures on Monday to reach 102 degrees with clear skies. The high temperature is not expected to drop below 100 degrees until Saturday.