The Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival is a

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

held each year in

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marquett ...

during the next-to-last full weekend of July and features

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

, acoustic and American music. Each year's main-stage line-up can include bluegrass, old-time, Cajun,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

acoustic blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, etc. The line-up includes national, regional and local performers, and singers/songwriters are always featured. The Festival also includes music and activities designed for teens and children. An arts and crafts show sponsored by a local art organization is held in conjunction with the Festival. Many of the arts and crafts vendors sell environment-friendly items. The Hiawatha Festival began in 1979 in Champion, Michigan. Since 1984, the Festival has been held at the Marquette Tourist Park. Camping is available on-site for everyone going to the festivals. The Hiawatha Music Festival is conducted by the Hiawatha Music N-n Profit Corporation, 501(c)3 non-profit commonly known as the Hiawatha Music Co-op. The Hiawatha Music Festival is located in Tourist Park, a campground along the Dead River. It is a great location for the festival and more than accommodates all campers to bathrooms with showers, a green field for activities, and a lake with a beach. The music festival requires a year-round effort of many volunteers to keep it going. This group still includes several of the original founders. Each year's Festival includes a variety of licensed, contracted food concessionaires, as well as a juried arts and crafts show. There is a token system much like most festivals that people can purchase in the same area as the vendors. Musicians also use this vendor area to promote or sell their CDs and DVDs. In addition, there are activities and performances for young children, tweens and teenagers. Workshops for adults run all day on Saturday and Sunday. Camping in the park is a very great experience during the festival. There are quiet sections for families, a section for youths to commune and camp, and the rising favorite 'A' section where the musicians normally stay. Even after midnight when the main stage has seen its last act, the musicians and bands will mix and congregate to play music all throughout the night. This is a great way for amateurs to even step in and show what they've got. Fire pits are available for warmth and light and are usable from start to end. Hiawatha and local authorities work to keep the festival a safe for all with a combination of experienced security volunteers, paid security and City officers. There'll be no festival in 2020 as the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

was to blame; the 42nd is deferred to 2021.

References

External links

*http://hiawathamusic.org Music festivals in Michigan Tourist attractions in Marquette County, Michigan