Hiawatha starts Friday
Hiawatha starts Friday
By MIRIAM MOELLER, Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — This weekend a familiar crowd will take over Marquette’s Tourist Park to spend three days listening and shaking a leg — or two — to traditional acoustic folk music.
The 28th Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival starts Friday with performances ranging from Piedmont Blues by Cephas and Wiggins to rock and traditional Appalachian music from The Mammals to the Royal Garden Trio’s jazz to traditional Appalachian clogging with the Wild Goosechase Cloggers. There will even be some Latin folk from the band Solazo.
“There really is something for everyone at the festival,” festival coordinator Maggie Morgan said.
Teenagers can enjoy music by the local band Electric Porcupine and the Ann Arbor-based band Back Forty as well as participate in activities such as tie-dying or henna tattooing. Children can learn to play ukulele, participate in the children’s parade or check out a musical saw.
“We try to keep our children’s prices as family friendly as we can to encourage people to bring their kids and get involved with music as early as possible,” Morgan said. “We try to nurture the next generation of traditional music lovers.”
Up to 4,000 people have attended the festival in past years. “For a lot of people it’s like a reunion weekend,” she said.
Festival organizers had to charge a camping fee of $10 for the first time this year due to an increase of the Marquette County Health Department campground permit fee.
“The permits we have to have, have gone from $40 to $2,200 this year,” Morgan said.
Morgan added that people have been very understanding about the fees. The festival also provides an opportunity to work off the ticket fees by volunteering, she said.
“By giving people a chance to volunteer at the festival, it helps us put the event together plus it gives those people a chance to work all or part off their advance ticket price,” she said.
Interested individuals can sign up for volunteer work at the festival when it opens at noon Friday at the Tourist Park. For a complete list of performers, ticket prices and a schedule of activities go to www.hiawathamusic.org
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