On Friday, September 10, the Beaumier Upper Peninsula Heritage Center will kick off the 3^rd annual Upper Peninsula Folklife Festival.   The 2010 Festival will begin at 7:00p.m. with the Funky Folk Dance and will continue from 10a.m. to 9:30p.m. on Saturday, September 11.   Activities will take place on the lawn in front of the Don H. Bottum University Center and the DeVos Art Museum.  Admission is Free to the public, though donations are appreciated.   The Festival is funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Commission and the Finlandia Foundation.

The Upper Peninsula Folklife Festival celebrates the traditional arts practiced by people in the region.  There will be dozens of arts and crafts demonstrations and performances by folk artist from throughout the Upper Peninsula, who represent many different ethnic and cultural groups.   There will be two large demonstration tents, two performance stages (dance and song), a large dance floor, and a chalk art area where people can create their own art.  In addition, there will be an exhibition of folk art by the late Neil Haapala at the DeVos Art Museum as well as a children’s craft area.  Lastly, there will ethnic food booths and a beer tent provided by NMU’s Dining Services. 

The event will have two evening performances on both nights.  On Friday, Sept. 10, the Festival will begin with the Funky Folk Dance, featuring Conga Se Menne and The PasiCats.  On Saturday, Sept. 11, the headling group will Song of the Lakes  (the planned group, Frigg from Finland, had to cancel do to visa problems).

For a complete schedule of events, go to the link.