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MSU MUSEUM'S FOLK FESTIVAL NAMED

MOST OUTSTANDING HUMANITIES PROJECT

The Michigan Humanities Council honored the Michigan State University Museum's Great Lakes Folk Festival as the state's most outstanding humanities project, 1974-2004 at its 30th Anniversary Celebration Sept. 30 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. 

This award recognizes the most outstanding project funded by the Michigan Humanities Council in its 30-year history. Almost annually since 1990, Michigan Humanities Council has helped sponsor a humanities program at the Michigan State University Museum's Festival of Michigan Folklife, which today has grown into the Great Lakes Folk Festival. These festivals have consistently demonstrated effective ways for humanities scholars to engage the general public in the exploration of humanities issues, especially those pertaining to ethnicity, occupation, regionality, religion, and cultural identity. Over the years, these festivals have enabled humanities scholars to reach thousands of visitors to the festivals and thousands more through the dissemination of related web-based, print, and media products. The MSU Museum's work was recognized from among more than 1,500 programs funded by the Michigan Humanities Council since its founding in 1974. Michigan Humanities Council is the state's private, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Timothy Lloyd, executive director at the American Folklore Society and adjunct professor of English at the Ohio State University, stated: "For those of us working in the field of folklore in the Great Lakes region, the Folklife Festivals serve as the major focus for the public presentation of our regional traditions and as a model for its behind-the-scenes partnerships that set the standard for effective folklore work. When I need to cite an example of best practices in our field, I choose this event."

Museum Staff with the award for the Most Outstanding Humanities program.  From Left to Right, Dr. C. Kurt Dewhurst, Julie Levy-Weston, Tim Soule, LuAnne Kozma, Dr. Marsha MacDowell and Hy Fitzgerald, Assistant Provost, MSU Outreach and Engagement

Cultural Connections at the Great Lakes Folk Festival

WKAR-TV visits Great Lakes Folk Festival
Wednesday, August 4, at 11:30 p.m.;

Sunday, August 8, at 10:30 p.m.

Cultural treasures of the upper Midwest and some of the best traditional artists from around the world can be experienced at the Great Lakes Folk Festival, an annual event which takes place in downtown East Lansing each summer. (This year's festival takes place August 13-15 and events are free. Visit www.greatlakesfolkfest.net for information about performances, demonstrations and exhibits.) Cultural Connections at the Great Lakes Folk Festival is a half-hour visit to last year's celebration of cultural heritage and explains the importance of preserving and appreciating these practices. The program will premiere Wednesday, August 4, at 11:30 p.m., and be repeated Sunday, August 8, at 10:30 p.m.

Some of the festival's most engaging musical performances are shown and merged with comments from a selection of "tradition bearers" about the importance of keeping these cultures alive. 

Onstage appearances feature such renowned traditional artists such as: Nova Scotia's Barra MacNeils, a group of siblings that play Cape Breton Celtic Music; Stella Chiweshe, who is known as the "Mbira Queen of Zimbabwe"; treasured Motown blueswoman, Alberta Adams; and Feufollet, a group that has been recognized as the best and most accomplished young Cajun band to emerge from Louisiana in recent years.

Also featured is 2003 Michigan Heritage Award recipient Ronald Paquin of Sault Ste. Marie, whose mission is to pass on the birch-bark canoe making tradition of his tribe, the Chippewas. Performances and demonstrations by Michigan tradition-bearers include the expressive Kathak Dance from northern India; the symbolic egg decorating craft of Pysanka from the Ukraine; and Mexican food made with old-world recipes, all as they were presented during the dynamic three day summer festival.

From the primary sponsoring organization, the MSU Museum, festival director Marsha MacDowell and folklife specialist Yvonne Lockwood provide meaningful commentary throughout the program about the communal benefits of cultural traditions and the challenges faced by traditional artists as they try to maintain these customs.

"After viewing this program, one will see how multicultural events such as the Great Lakes Folk Festival can promote respect and appreciation for the many cultures that make up our society and the world we live in," says Paul Pierantozzi, producer and director of the program. Pierantozzi is WKAR's video editor and videographer. Cultural Connections at the Great Lakes Folk Festival was created as his master's thesis project for the MSU Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media. The program was co-produced with WKAR in collaboration with the MSU Museum.

The 2004 Great Lakes Folk Festival is Aug. 13-15 in downtown East Lansing. See http://www.greatlakesfolkfest.net .

Find out more:
WKAR - http://www.wkar.org
Michigan State University Museum - http://museum.msu.edu

(this  information posted  July 20, '04)

Poster and T-shirt design for 2004!

Here's the 2004 version of the Festival Shirt. Shirts will be on sale in two locations on the Festival site.  The color illustrated to the left is reserved for volunteers.  Decisions are still being made on the shirt colors that will be available to the public.

posted July 14, '04

Great Lakes Folk Festival Music Schedule Set
More than 70 music, dance and artist showcases make for a non-stop celebration of culture, tradition and community Aug. 13-15 in East Lansing for the MSU Museum's Great Lakes Folk Festival.

Music and dance stages-sponsored by the City of East Lansing-present 23 diverse musical groups, from as close by as Kalamazoo to as far away as Dublin, Ireland:

Afghani Dutar (lute): Aziz Herawi, Sacramento, California
African-American Gospel: Karen Clark Sheard, Detroit, Michigan
Appalachian Old-Time String Band: Springfield Exit, Washington, D.C., and Rogersville, Tenn.
Arab-American Nay (flute): Nadim Dlaikan, Detroit, Michigan
Bluegrass: Bobby Hicks, Antioch, Tennessee
Blues--Harmonica: Aaron "Little Sonny" Willis, Detroit, Michigan
Blues--Delta: Eddie Burns, Detroit, Michigan
Bones & Spoons: Giovanni "Johnny" Battista Perona with Les Ross Sr. and the
    Finnish-American All Stars, Calumet, Michigan
Caribbean--Reggae: Universal Xpression, Detroit, Michigan
Celtic/Irish sessiun: Dan?, Donegal, Dublin and Waterford, Ireland
Chinese Pipa (lute): Gao Hong, Northfield, Minnesota
French-Canadian/Quebecois: Le Vent du Nord, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Hip-Hop--Muslim American Rap: The Desert Crew, Cleveland, Ohio
Hip-Hop--Holy Hip Hop: The Mad Prophets, Detroit, Michigan
Hip-Hop--Native American Rap: Shadowyze, Pensacola, Florida
Norwegian Hardanger Fiddle: Karin Loberg Code, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Ojibwa Storyteller: Don "Red Arrow" Stevens, Blanchard, Michigan
Old-Time Fiddle: Lois Bettesworth, Flushing, Michigan
Polish Accordion: Stas Wisniach, Farmington, Michigan
Polish Polka: Pan Franek & Zosia's Polka Towners, Muskegon, Michigan
Sacred Steel Guitar: Calvin Cooke Sacred Steel Ensemble, Detroit, Michigan
Tejano: Laura Canales and Cali Carranza y Los Formales, Kingsville, Texas
Zydeco: Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Sunset, Louisiana

The schedule is now available on the GLFF web site -- http://greatlakesfolkfest.net/Schedule/ -- along with artist biographies, maps, links and other event activities. (The schedule may be subject to change.)

Other music program notes:
Springfield Exit, an Appalachian traditional old-time string band, kicks off the music program on Friday, Aug. 13, at 6 p.m. on the MAC Stage. It's a homecoming of sorts: the band's Linda Barker Lay and David Lay appeared at the 2000 National Folk Festival in East Lansing in the group Appalachian Trail.

Calling all gospel fans: Detroit's Karen Clark Sheard - Lady of Soul Award winner, member of the Clark Sisters and daughter of gospel pioneer Dr. Mattie Moss-Clark - appears one time only, Saturday, Aug. 14, at
8 p.m. on the Valley Court Stage. The Mad Prophets will also bring "holy hip hop," or gospel rap, to GLFF.

"Traditions showcases" draw together master artists in accordion, fiddle and lute to share and compare techniques, styles and influences.

The Albert Avenue Dance Tent will pulse with music in motion: reggae, polka, Zydeco, Tejano, French-Canadian, Middle Eastern and Norwegian fiddle. Dance lessons will precede many of the performances.

The Legacy Stage features Michigan masters, including blues, bones and spoons, Middle Eastern flute, polka and old-time fiddle.

New this year: hip-hop heritage. Thanks to grants from the Michigan Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the MSU Museum explores artistic expression in hip-hop culture, featuring gospel, Muslim-American and Native American performances. Desert Crew will present a street performance on Saturday, Aug. 14, at 4 p.m. in the Valley Court Park area.

Volunteers Still Needed- The Festival is still in need of over 100 volunteers to fill various positions important to the running of the event.  If you are interested- or know someone who would be- please go to the volunteer registration page on this web site.

This link will take you there.

GLFF fast facts:
The annual festival brings together the research and outreach efforts of the MSU Museum's Michigan Traditional Arts Program. Throughout the half-mile festival site in downtown East Lansing, visitors can take in all the great elements of the festival program:

Traditions Showcases with musicians getting together from many bands to trade their stories, influences and techniques;
Dance performances, along with on-the-spot lessons;
Taste of Traditions Food Court with authentic regional and ethnic food specialties;
Folk Arts Marketplace with hand-made, museum quality arts, from woven goods to woodworking and Native American crafts; and
Children's Folk Activities Area, where kids take the lead in sharing customs, crafts and creative group projects. New this year is a hands-on musical instrument "petting zoo."

GLFF was honored this year with an Imagining Michigan award for outstanding campus-community outreach partnerships in arts and humanities.

Admission to the Great Lakes Folk Festival is free. Festival hours are: Friday, Aug. 13, 6 - 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 14, 12 noon - 10:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Aug. 15, 12 noon - 6 p.m.

To volunteer: A committed core of nearly 400 volunteers help the MSU Museum produce this large-scale community event. Positions are available in artist services, transportation, information booth, children's area, site set-up and tear-down, Bucket Brigade and others. This link will take you to the online application form

Getting there: Ride the CATA Folk Festival Routes
Ride for just 25-cents each way when you board a Great Lakes Folk Festival bus or use your CATA fixed-route bus pass. Children 42" or less ride for free. If you pay with cash, you must use exact change. Board and deboard at any CATA bus stop along the routes. Try the convenient park and ride lot on Service Road, just west of Hagadorn, on MSU's campus. Buses run approximately every 10 minutes. CATA service is open to all and transfers are free to other CATA routes.

For Bicyclists: The Tri-County Bicycle Association will run a convenient on-site bike valet parking corral again this year at the corner of Albert and Abbott.

The Great Lakes Folk Festival is a celebration of culture, tradition and community produced by the Michigan State University Museum's Michigan Traditional Arts Program, with major support from the MSU Office of the Provost, the MSU College of Arts & Letters, the MSU Office of Outreach and Engagement, the City of East Lansing, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, WILX, Lansing State Journal and the Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more information on the Great Lakes Folk Festival, contact the MSU Museum at (517) 432-GLFF or www.greatlakesfolkfest.net.

The above information posted June 30,2004

Festival Wins "Imagining Michigan" Award

posted May 13, 2004

The Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) announced top honors for outstanding arts and humanities programs statewide with the first annual Imagining Michigan Awards - including the Great Lakes Folk Festival in East Lansing. The awards will be presented May 24 at the Imagining Michigan Conference in Grand Rapids.

Matrix Theatre of Detroit and the Arts of Citizenship Program at the University of Michigan won the first annual Imagining Michigan Award for the their project, "Homelands."

Imagining Michigan Special Recognition honors go to:
-The Great Lakes Folk Festival, launched in 2002, a high-impact annual event sustained by a partnership between the City of East Lansing and the Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the Michigan State University Museum;

"This one-of-a-kind event creates a truly dynamic and enduring experience in our community, and it represents the best of what's possible with a campus-community collaboration," says Marsha MacDowell, festival director and MSU Museum curator of folk arts. "We're excited about sharing the talents and creative expressions of traditional artists again this year."

Now You Can Donate with your Credit Card

posted March 29, 2004

The Great Lakes Folk Festival is pleased to announce that you can now donate to the fesitval on line, by credit card.  We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Go to our Festival Contribution Form, fill in the info, continue on to our secure server to complete the transaction and receive your receipt.

Thanks for your help in these challenging financial times

The Great Lakes Folk Festival Returns

August 13-15

Posted March 24, 2004

Plans are beginning to take shape for the 2004 Great Lakes Folk Festival, Aug. 13-15 in downtown East Lansing.

The Michigan State University Museum presents the annual event celebrating culture, tradition and community. Music and dance stages -- sponsored by the City of East Lansing -- feature rhythm, sound and spectacular musicianship and combine for nearly 50 performances over the free, three-day festival. The preliminary slate of musical artists includes:

(Artist names in blue below are clickable links to their web sites.)

Afghan Lute: Aziz Herawi, Sacramento, Calif.

Bluegrass: Bobby Hicks, Antioch, Tenn.

Blues: "Little Sonny" Willis, Detroit

Caribbean: Universal Xpression, Detroit

Celtic: Danú, Donegal, Dublin and Waterford, Ireland

Chinese Pipa : Gao Hong, Northfield, Minn.

Gospel: Karen Clark Sheard, Detroit

Hip-Hop: The Desert Crew, Cleveland

Old-Time Country: Springfield Exit, Washington, D.C., and Rogersville, Tenn.

Polka: Pan Franek & Zosia's Polka Towners, Muskegon, Mich.

Québécois: Le Vent du Nord

Sacred Steel Guitar: Calvin Cooke, Detroit

More musical artists will be added in the coming months, including Tex-Mex, Zydeco and others - check back for updates on performers, biographies and schedules.

"This one-of-a-kind event creates a truly dynamic and enduring experience in our community, and we're excited to share the traditions and talents of so many diverse artists," says Marsha MacDowell, festival director and MSU Museum curator of folk arts.

"GreatFriends" get it started!

The rousing sounds of the lap steel guitar and powerhouse vocals will officially kick-start the festival production season. A "GreatFriends" Gathering" will feature a performance by Calvin Cooke and Detroit Sacred Steel on Sunday, April 18, at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center. For more information on Calvin and to purchase tickets, go to the Benefit Party Page.  The party begins at 5 with a food-and-beverage reception, followed by a 7 p.m. performance.

Meanwhile, on the festival front. . .

Throughout the half-mile festival site in downtown East Lansing, visitors can take in all the great elements of the festival program: musical performances and Traditions Showcases with musicians getting together from many bands to trade their stories, influences and techniques; dance performances, along with on-the-spot lessons; Taste of Traditions Food Court with authentic regional and ethnic food specialties; and the Children's Folk Activities Area, where kids take the lead in sharing customs, crafts and creative group projects.

The "Legacy" continues

A popular element from last year's GLFF will also be expanded this year: the Legacy Stage, presenting in-depth demonstrations and performances with the state's foremost tradition-bearers in music, arts and community folklife. Musical elements feature Detroit blues to U.P. Finnish kantela (harp), and material culture demonstrations are planned in traditional arts such as blacksmithing, piñata making, fly rod making, and palm leaf braiding. These programs are drawn from the MSU Museum's Michigan Heritage Awards and Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.

New this year

based on the success of the M.A.C. Stage block programming on Saturday afternoon, the MSU Museum is presenting another themed genre with back-to-back-to-back performances that underscore richness and variety.

This year it's hip-hop, beginning with The Desert Crew, and the group's primarily Egyptian heritage. Asian, Gospel and Native American groups will also show the language, poetry, expression and cultural heritage that are conveyed in hip-hop culture.

Also new in the Children's Folk Activities Area will be an "instrument petting zoo" -- strumming, plucking, tapping and more music-making fun - so kids learn more about many of the instruments seen on stage in GLFF musical performances.

Volunteer here!

Volunteer forms are available on line (click here to go to registration page) for those who want to be among the more than 300 who help produce the large-scale community event. The first volunteer recruitment open house is set for Thursday, April 1, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., at the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road. 

posted Nov 2003

2004 Festival Dates Set

Save the dates August 13-15, 2004, for the Great Lakes Folk Festival in downtown East Lansing! Planning for this year's event continues in music and other programming areas, as well as important fund-raising initiatives that are described below.


GLFF "Double Our Supporters Campaign!"

As you all are well aware, these are extremely tough times for cultural organizations and the Great Lakes Folk Festival is no exception. In the last six months the festival has, due to state cuts in higher education and arts funding, endured major reductions of support from Michigan State University and from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. While this places the festival in a very difficult position financially, we have heard from so many that they believe this festival is important to our community and our state and it must be continued. We have spent the last few weeks examining our options and have come to the conclusion that we will go forward with planning for a 2004 festival.

BUT, we need a lot of help from current supporters and from new supporters to be able to sustain the festival.

FIRST, the 2004 festival is in need of EARLY commitments of support. Remember, contributions made to the festival are also considered gifts to Michigan State University and as such, are tax-deductible as provided by law and count towards membership in MSU's donor societies!

NEXT, below is the list of last year's major cash and in-kind supporters. By the end of March 2004 we need to DOUBLE this list through retention and perhaps increased donations from current donors but more importantly through the addition of NEW supporters.

PLEASE take a moment to review the list. If you know someone affiliated with one of the below organizations or businesses, please thank them for their support to date and encourage them to continue.

Then, SEND us names of key individuals you know who are affiliated with a business or organization you think would be interested in supporting the festival. You can send names and contact info to Tim Soule, MSU Museum Development Officer (souleti@msu.edu or 432-0859). Tim will then work with our staff and fundraising committee to follow up on your leads.


"Our Goal Is To Double This List! We Know, With Your Help, We Can Do It and Keep the Festival Going!"      -- Marsha MacDowell, Director, GLFF, MSU Museum