Hiawatha Music Festival
Encyclopedia
The Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival in Marquette, Michigan
is held each year during the next-to-last full weekend of July and features traditional
, acoustic
, American music
. Each year's main-stage line-up can include bluegrass
, old-time
, Cajun
, Celtic
, acoustic blues, Gospel
, etc. The line-up includes national, regional and local performers, and singer/songwriters are always featured. The Festival also includes music and activities designed for teens and children. An arts and craft show sponsored by a local art organization is held in conjunction with the Festival. Many of the art and craft vendors sell earth-friendly items.
The Hiawatha Festival began in 1979 in Champion, Michigan. Since 1984, the Festival venue has been the city-owned Marquette Tourist Park, where camping (up to 1,000 units) is available for Festival-goers. The Hiawatha Festival is conducted by the Hiawatha Music Non Profit Corporation, a 600-member, 501(c)3 non-profit commonly known as the Hiawatha Music Co-op.
The Hiawatha Music Festival is located in Tourist Park; a very beautiful forested area in Marquette. It is a great location for the festival and more than accommodates all campers to bathrooms with showers, a baseball field for activities, and a river. Note: that there was a lake in the campground, but a flood destroyed the dam and the lake bed became fed by the waters to create a river. Attendants to the festival were welcome to swim in the lake. However, in 2011 the area was sealed off, as they are implementing means to re-create the lake that was so special to the campground.
The music festival is a year-round ordeal to keep it going. And has been mainly made up of some of the original founders such as the recent long-term president - Susan Bertram. The city is ever-demanding in keeping the festival a safe and crime-free event. However, there is volunteer security at all checkpoints and roaming the campground to maintain safety. There has never been recorded events that warrant a great need for police presence and city participation, yet they still will be in attendance to help if the rare situations of crime were to surface.
Although the Marquette City Council is very aggressive in it's stance against the festival, Marquette profits hugely by the amount of tourists that come to the festival. They do not only stay on the grounds, but support local businesses in vital ways to keep the economy of Marquette strong in the wake of tough times in Michigan as of late. Local businesses also can set up vendor stations at the festival to promote and sell their products to people hungry, thirsty, or novelty searching. 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.
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.
Colin Bertram
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
is held each year during the next-to-last full weekend of July and features traditional
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
, acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
, American music
American music
The music of the Americas is very diverse since, in addition to many types of Native American music, the music of Africa and the music of Europe have been found there for some five centuries, creating many hybrid forms that have influenced the popular music of the world.-See also:*Canadian...
. Each year's main-stage line-up can include bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, old-time
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
, Cajun
Cajun music
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...
, Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
, acoustic blues, Gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, etc. The line-up includes national, regional and local performers, and singer/songwriters are always featured. The Festival also includes music and activities designed for teens and children. An arts and craft show sponsored by a local art organization is held in conjunction with the Festival. Many of the art and craft vendors sell earth-friendly items.
The Hiawatha Festival began in 1979 in Champion, Michigan. Since 1984, the Festival venue has been the city-owned Marquette Tourist Park, where camping (up to 1,000 units) is available for Festival-goers. The Hiawatha Festival is conducted by the Hiawatha Music Non Profit Corporation, a 600-member, 501(c)3 non-profit commonly known as the Hiawatha Music Co-op.
The Hiawatha Music Festival is located in Tourist Park; a very beautiful forested area in Marquette. It is a great location for the festival and more than accommodates all campers to bathrooms with showers, a baseball field for activities, and a river. Note: that there was a lake in the campground, but a flood destroyed the dam and the lake bed became fed by the waters to create a river. Attendants to the festival were welcome to swim in the lake. However, in 2011 the area was sealed off, as they are implementing means to re-create the lake that was so special to the campground.
The music festival is a year-round ordeal to keep it going. And has been mainly made up of some of the original founders such as the recent long-term president - Susan Bertram. The city is ever-demanding in keeping the festival a safe and crime-free event. However, there is volunteer security at all checkpoints and roaming the campground to maintain safety. There has never been recorded events that warrant a great need for police presence and city participation, yet they still will be in attendance to help if the rare situations of crime were to surface.
Although the Marquette City Council is very aggressive in it's stance against the festival, Marquette profits hugely by the amount of tourists that come to the festival. They do not only stay on the grounds, but support local businesses in vital ways to keep the economy of Marquette strong in the wake of tough times in Michigan as of late. Local businesses also can set up vendor stations at the festival to promote and sell their products to people hungry, thirsty, or novelty searching. 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.
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.
Colin Bertram