MARQUETTE — The Hiawatha Music Co-op announces the 43rd Annual Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival, July 21, 22, and 23, 2023.

All are invited to gather once again for a weekend of traditional music at Tourist Park campground in Marquette. This is a family-oriented, music-filled weekend on the shores of the Dead River Basin. There are music events and activities for every age.

The music line-up promises to once again please everyone with local, regional, and national musicians. The Mainstage on Saturday and Sunday will feature Grammy Award winning fiddler Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, who is widely regarded as the GOAT (the greatest of all time). The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers will use old dance steps in new ways to defy the boundaries of traditional clogging. Other performers include blues artist Buffalo Nichols, the Gypsy-jazz sounds of Djangophonique, the amazing old-time vocals of Buffalo Rose, the crowd-pleasing high energy of Pert Near Sandstone, singer/songwriter Lizze No with her ethereal harp and guitar skills, a duo from Baltimore called the Honey Dewdrops, string band Strung Together, and the voice of the Northwoods, our own Michael Waite. The Friday Night Get Acquainted Dance will feature the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers, Djangophonique, and Strung Together.

At the Teen Scene, Hiawatha’s teens ages 13-17 will enjoy music by Goofy Foot, Cicada, and Old Pine Road, with a teens-only dance on Saturday evening. Teen-oriented activities and crafts are also planned. The youngest Festival-goers will enjoy a busy line-up in the Children’s Area, with child-friendly crafts and activities, and musical performers including the return of Fox & Branch, Luunappi, Frank Youngman, and the Yooptone Musical Petting Zoo. Musical newcomers to the Children’s Area include Hearth & Hymn, Ron Fowler, and Mother Seagull.

Workshops of all kinds will be offered throughout the weekend. Attendees are encouraged to bring instruments and voices to join in with Mainstage and local musicians at the Workshops and informal jam sessions around the Festival. The Children’s Parade featuring Frank Youngman and the childrens’ homemade instruments will kick off the final evening of music Sunday afternoon.

A variety of local food vendors will also be on hand to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner fare, snacks and beverages. A juried Art Show, Artists in the Round, will be featured on Saturday and Sunday. The Young Artists Corner on Saturday will showcase our younger artists’ creations.

The Kaufman Sports Complex, just north of the Jacobetti Center on County Road 550, will serve as our location for the Gate Ticket Tent, parking, and shuttle pick up.

Open camping is available when the gates open at noon on Friday. On-site parking passes are available for purchase for anyone who is camping, and for those with handicap hang tags or license plates. Off-site parking is available at no cost at the Kaufman Sports Complex with free shuttles to and from the Festival grounds. Free parking is also available on NMU’s Lot 22 and Lot 14, and shuttle service will be provided at both of these lots as well.

There is also a free shuttle with a trailer to transport camping gear and patrons directly to their Festival campsites. No pets are allowed. Disabled patrons attending with service animals are welcome, as provided by the ADA.

The Kaufman Sports Complex Ticket Tent will open at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 22, and is the location for purchase of Festival wristbands, camping tags and parking passes. For more information, visit the Hiawatha Music Co-op website at www.hiawathamusic.org or the Hiawatha Music Co-op Facebook page.