Welcome to the Great Lakes Folk Festival. Hear from friends at the MSU Museum and the City of East Lansing and then enjoy the music of our opening band, Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners
Due to health issues, Warner Williams will be unable to appear.
Featuring Bua's Brían Ó hAirt (Irish Celtic), Joaquín Díaz (Merengue)
and Leroy Thomas (Zydeco) Accordion Traditions will compare and
contrast accordion styles from Ireland, the Dominican Republic and
Louisiana.
Claire Lynch and her band demonstrate the musical roots of bluegrass, in an
informal discussion with Bob Blackman.
MSU’s cheesemaker Josh Hall will demonstrate artisan cheesemaking.
Members of MSU’s African-American fraternities and sororities demonstrate Stepping, and talk about the tradition on campus.
Cake Decorator Teresa Fortino of MSU Bakers will demonstrate cake and cookie decorating techniques, and talk about what it’s like to work in the MSU Bakery with the Student Cookie Crew.
MSU Professor of Horticulture will present a session on Green Roof research at MSU, with some applications for the home owner.
Always one of the Great Lakes Folk Festival's favorites, Fiddle
Traditions will compare and contrast fiddle styles as performed by
Bua's Devin Shepherd (Celtic), David Bass (Old-time) and Bryan
McDowell (Bluegrass), as well as the generational relationship of the
three styles.
Kis Szivek was started in 2006 as an offshoot of the Csipke Folk Dance Ensemble. Since that time it has established itself as a well-known children's ensemble, adopting a name which which translates to "little hearts." This is appropriate because the majority of the children speak the Hungarian language and sing and dance with all their hearts and enthusiasm. Kis Szivek performs dances from all over the country of Hungary as well as those parts of Romania that are still populated by the Magyar people.
Laurie Thorp, director or Residential Initiative for the Environment, and advisor to the Student Organic Farm, and MSU Animal Science professor Dale Rozeboom will talk about the MSU Organic Pig Project, and demonstrate making pork sausage.
Val Berryman, Curator of History at MSU Museum for the last fifty years, has
assembled an interesting collection of treasures from MSU's history. Come
enjoy these rarely seen treasures. Special Guest, Professor Cy Stewart, who was one of the first Spartys at MSU, 1959-1963.
Ashley Bennett of MSU’s Dept. of Entomology, will lead a session on Gardening for Bees. Participants first to arrive can make a bee house!
Long-time MSU fans the Burke Family will share recipes and stories about tailgating, MSU style!
Experience the joy of raising your voice with your friends, neighbors, and community. Join Chicagoan Mark Dvorak and Lansing's Sally Potter as they host two hours of non-stop community singing. Don't worry - you don't need to have a great singing voice, or the ability to read music to join the fun. You just need to have a love of singing - singing those great songs you probably already know - together. You've listened to other people make music all weekend long. Now, it's your turn!
MSU Carilloneur Sally Harwood shares the tradition of playing the carillon in MSU’s Beaumont Tower. Followed by a behind-the-scenes tour inside Beaumont Tower to see the Carillon.
Horticulture Department Professor Ron Perry presents information on MSU’s Wine Research programs, and shares Michigan food and wine pairings.
Due to health issues, Warner Williams will be unable to appear.
Bring your fiddle, guitar, banjo or other old time, unamplified instrument and join local musicians for an Old Time jam under the Legacy stage tent at the Folk Festival. All music is played by ear, beginners sit on the edges and pickup the tunes. You can also come and just sit and listen. The Lansing area musicians who have attended in the past know dozens (hundreds?) of tunes and have a great time playing together. Presented in partnership with MSU's Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.
Many people think of folk music as a guitar and banjo and fiddle. And
while we certainly have plenty of those at the festival each year,
many cultures have found unique ways with which to produce sounds and
music... sometimes with but a string or two; sometimes with dozens of
strings. In this showcase, we will feature the Indian Sitar (Hasu
Patel), the Kamanche (Saeed Kamjoo), the Begena and Krar (Temesgen
Hussein) and the Kanun (Ara Topouzian).
Caller Paul Tyler will join the Freight Hoppers to lead you through traditional American Old-Time dancing. Grab a partner and get on the floor. Do si do your neighbor, go back home and swing your partner, now everybody circle left!
Due to health issues, Warner Williams will be unable to appear.
Guitars and fiddles and accordions often get most of the attention
while those that keep the beat are kept (often literally) in the
background. In this showcase, we will feature the Indian Tabla (Vishal
Nagar), the Iranian Daf and Tumbak (Mehdi Darvishi), Merengue Tambora
(Peter Barzey) and Guira (Raul Villa Rojas) and Zydeco Rubboard
(Charles Fontenot).
Can you Can? Come to this session and learn the basics of canning delicious fruit jams and jellies. Presented by Joyce McGarry, an MSU Extension Educator and Food Safty Expert and Linday Huyck; a Family And Consumer Science Educator for Montcalm County Extension.
Fresh off their participation in the American Solar Car Challenge, members of the MSU Solar Car Team will be on hand to talk about their solar vehicle and the cross country race.
The canning double session continues with delicious and safe ways to can summer salsa for use in the cold months of the year.
Joyce McGarry, is MSU Extension Educator and Food Safty Expert and Linday Huyck is a Family And Consumer Science Educator at Montcalm County Extension
RCAH Professor Dylan Miner presents his project - Anishnaabensag Biimskowebshkigewag- Native Kids Ride Bikes, an art and community building project aimed at Indigenous youth.
Caller Paul Tyler will join the Freight Hoppers to lead you through traditional American Old-Time dancing. Grab a partner and get on the floor. Do si do your neighbor, go back home and swing your partner, now everybody circle left!
A performance of Tejano music by Michigan Heritage Awards Winners René Meave and Guillermo Martinez.
Ladies First has been an a capella dynasty on campus since 1985. Come and hear the Ladies sing a few songs and talk about the singing around the community, and in competition with a capella enselbles from around the country.
Rachel Ball and her son, Michie, Thai cook and Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship team, will teach some of the basics of Thai cooking.
Due to health issues, Warner Williams will be unable to appear.
Denae Friedheim will demonstrate two of the many uses of delicious, nutritious, ubiquitious Kale. She'll make a Green Smoothie and
It is not uncommon for musicians to cross paths in airports, and it's
very uncommon for musicians to not want to play music together when
they've got the chance. René Meave (Tex-Mex), Leroy Thomas (Zydeco),
Devin Shepherd (Irish Celtic) and Frank Lee (Old-Time) will each kick
off a tune and the rest will follow.
The Michigan Heritage Awards are presented each year to honor master practitioners in Michigan who continue the folk traditions of their families and communities through practice and teaching. Awards are also presented to outstanding community leaders who support and advocate traditional arts.
Chef Kurt Kwiatkowski of MSU’s Culinary Programs shares what’s cooking with culinary arts on campus. He will demonstrate a pork entrée salad with herbed vinaigrette.
You can't sit still when the sounds of Zydeco are filling the Dance Stage
