Midland Folk Music Festival

The Folk Music Society of Midland invites listeners and musicians of all levels, from beginners to advanced, to bring their acoustic instruments and join in the fun and festivities at the 2nd Annual Midland Folk Music Festival, held at the Midland County Fairgrounds on Eastman Rd., just north of US-10. The dates are Thursday, August 23, 2012 through Sunday, August 26, 2012, although many campers start arriving the Monday or Tuesday before the festival begins for lots of informal musical fun.

You can find out about more this great festival by following this link: http://www.midland-mi.org/mctv/channel99.htm and then typing the word "festival" in the show search box. One of the top results from this search is show ID # 5398, Folk Festival Documentary. Click on the word "view" to the right of this listing, and your browser will open a window and begin playing the 90-minute documentary from the 2010 festival.

The Midland Folk Music Festival is the successor and younger brother of the Midland Dulcimer Festival, which enjoyed a wonderful 16-year run. Many non-dulcimer playing musicians attended and thoroughly enjoyed the Midland Dulcimer Festival, and dulcimer players will find the same great workshops, stage shows and impromptu gatherings as in previous years.

There will be plenty of parking lot picking and open stage opportunities all weekend. Workshops are included with the price of admission, and will be held on Friday and Saturday for Autoharp, Banjo, Bass, Concertina, Fiddle, Guitar, Hammered Dulcimer, Hurdy Gurdy, Mandolin, Mountain Dulcimer, Ukelele, Whistle, Dance, Performance Skills and more. A childrens' workshop program is an exciting addition to the 2011 festival to keep the younger crowd engaged.

It all begins with an outstanding stage show on Thursday evening at 6:30, with both local bands and your favorites from here in Michigan and out-of-state performing.

Workshops run from 9am to 5pm both Friday and Saturday, and encompass a broad variety of instruments and skill levels. Vendor booths open at 9am on Friday and will fix you up with whatever you either forgot to bring or need to buy!

On Friday night at 7 p.m., the Midland Traditional Dancers will instruct and lead dancers of all levels in a lively FREE evening of contra dancing, and also on Friday night, musicians are welcome to attend and take a turn at the mic at the Jamboree, which moves from its traditional site at the Mt. Haley Twp. Hall to the Fairgrounds in the month of August.

The Saturday evening Stage Show always a highlight of the weekend. The event concludes on Sunday after a morning “Gospel Music” Stage Show.

Admission for the entire weekend is only $7 per person, or $20 for a family, and camping is available (most sites with hookups) for only $20 per night.

Please visit the FMSM website, www.folkmusicsociety.org for more information and for other contacts regarding specific aspects of the festival.

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