Carnival of Soul

“The idea for Winter Roots started with Dan Truckey at the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at NMU,” said Tristan Luoma, event co-organizer. “Interested in warming up winter with a unique festival similar to the great ones that fill our weekends in the summer, he approached a number of community stakeholders including the Hiawatha Music Co-op, Peter White Public Library, Marquette Blues Society, and City of Marquette Arts & Culture Division to garner interest and backing.”

It is a day long event that will include music and dance performances as well as workshops. This year there will be five community venues you can check out including: the Marquette Arts & Culture Center, Peter White Public Library, Hiawatha Fold, NMU Forest Roberts Theatre, and Ore Dock Brewing Company.

“One of the things that makes this Festival so special is the variety of programming offered. From dance, art, and music workshops to performances by both local and regional talent, intertwined with a few healthy doses of cultural history and education, there really is something for everyone,” Luoma said. “Our goal with the Festival is to give individuals and families the opportunity to make a day out of it and explore the rich, deeply-rooted tradition and influence of folk, roots, and traditional music — genres that have had a very sustained and impactful presence in the Upper Peninsula.”

The admission is $10 and includes entry into all the events throughout the day. The Marquette Arts and Culture Center will kick off the Festival at 10:30 a.m. with a musical petting zoo with Yooptone Music and a community guitar art project with Gene Bertram. From there, the Peter White Public Library will be hosting events from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., Hiawatha Fold will have events from 1-5 p.m., NMU Forest Roberts Theatre will have a showcase from 4-6 p.m. The night will conclude with the Ore Dock Brewing Company hosting Ypsilanti-based bluegrass and Americana group Black Jake and the Carnies from 7-9 p.m.

“I think what is so great about this event, besides all the talent, is that it really is a collaborative effort by a bunch of arts organizations in the community coming together for one goal; to create a great winter music festival. We all contribute a lot of time and money putting this together because we love the music and the community. It’s just a great opportunity to bring people together on a cold day in February to enjoy some music, dance, craft and good times,” said Dan Truckey, director of the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center.

For more information, check out the Winter Roots Festival page on Facebook.

Schedule of events:

Marquette Arts & Culture Center (217 N. Front St., Marquette)

10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Musical Petting Zoo with Yooptone Music

10:30am – 12 p.m., Community Guitar Art Project with Gene Bertram

Peter White Public Library (217 N. Front St., Marquette)

11:00am – 12 p.m., The Battle Cry of Freedom: Songs of the Civil War with Jim Janofski

12 p.m. – 1 p.m., Morris Dance Workshop with Carolyn & Evan Provencher

1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m., Traditional Folk Dance with All Strings Considered 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Finnish Folk Dance with Midsummer Strings

Hiawatha Fold (1013 N. Third St., Marquette)

1 p.m. – 2 p.m., Singer/Songwriter Workshop with Sue Demel

2 p.m. – 3 p.m., Ukulele Workshop with Jeff Krebs

3 p.m. – 4 p.m., Patriots & Protest Songs – Presentation and Sing-Along with Jim Hall & Cindy Morgan

4 p.m. – 5 p.m., Family Harmonica Workshop with Jason McInnes

NMU Forest Roberts Theatre

4 p.m. – 6 p.m., Marquette Folk Showcase featuring Waawiyeyaa, Michael Waite, Kerry Yost, Jerry Mills, Niikah Hatfield, Alexa Alagon, John Gillette & Sarah Mittlefehldt, & more

Ore Dock Brewing Company (114 W. Spring St., Marquette)

7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Black Jake and the Carnies

Amy Grigas can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 243.