East Lansing’s award-winning
Great Lakes Folk Festival (GLFF) is a nationally renowned event that draws people by the thousands to downtown East Lansing—and it’s happening next week.
Produced by the
Michigan Traditional Arts Program at the
Michigan State University Museum, the Great Lakes Folk Festival spans the streets of downtown East Lansing, from MAC and Albert Avenues to Valley Court Park on August 8-10.
More than music and culture, the Great Lakes Folk Festival is also an economic engine, expecting to draw 90,000 people who’ll drop nearly $2 million on this year’s party.
History and EconomicsThe Great Lakes Folk Festival has been thriving since 2002, but its roots can be traced back to 1983, when the MSU Museum showcased a series of Michigan's folk traditions at the annual
4-H Exploration Days in East Lansing.
In 1999, the MSU Museum began a three-year partnership with the
City of East Lansing and the
National Council for Traditional Arts (NCTA) to develop the National Folk Festival. With this partnership, the NCTA had the ultimate responsibility of coordinating the music programming, while the “host”—the MSU Museum—was responsible for all other event logistics.
According to Lora Helou, communications director for the MSU Museum and the GLFF, the National Folk Festival is a “moveable feast” that stays in a city for three years at a time in the hopes that the partner city will replace the event with one of their own.
So, in 2002, when the National Folk Festival moved on to lay the festival groundwork in a new city, the Great Lakes Folk Festival was born to carry on the tradition in East Lansing.
Operating on a budget of $750,000, the festival relies on a combination of cash and in-kind donations, like advertising and media. Major cash contributors such as the City of East Lansing ($120,000+), MSU ($50,000+), the
Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs and the
National Endowment for the Arts ($25,000+) help to fund the event while media outlets such as
WILX TV 10 and
Adams Outdoor Advertising help promote the festival.
Festival organizers expect this year’s event will draw more than 90,000 visitors, and they’ll generate roughly $2 million dollars for the city and East Lansing businesses.
But, explains Helou, “that $2 million expands beyond the event itself. It is reflected in gas, parking, restaurants, souvenirs, hotels and other shopping and attractions visitors take part in while at the festival.”
Admission to the GLFF may be free, but that doesn’t stop restaurants like , Harper’s and
Crunchy’s from reaping the benefits of the thousands of people passing by their storefronts during the three-day bash.
Lansing resident of 48 years and longtime GLFF volunteer, Pat Harrington, agrees. “Even though there is food available at the festival, the local restaurants, particularly those in the immediate vicinity of the festival, seem to be hopping.”
In addition to the bars and restaurants, local hotels like the
East Lansing Marriott at University Place, experience an economic boost generated by out-of-towners who need somewhere to lay their heads after the festival. The Marriott has hosted, and will continue to host, the performing artists during their stay in East Lansing.
Musical Melting PotMore than a music festival, the annual folk fest is a celebration of cultural heritage. The combination of musician, dancers, cooks, storytellers and craftspeople exemplifies the sharing of authentic traditions.
China is a good example. While national media and eager sports enthusiasts are counting down the days to the opening of the Beijing Olympics, more than 400 volunteers, veteran attendees, eager newcomers and the staff at the MSU Museum are doing the same as they count down the days to the Folks Festival’s kick-off, which also happens to be on August 8.
The coincidence means you can bet this year’s festival will have some focus on the Chinese culture. For starters,
George Gao will entertain the crowd with his prowess on the erhu, or Chinese violin. Gao—an erhu master and native of China—has forged the development of new music from the erhu, blending traditional Chinese music with jazz, Western Classical music, New Age and other influences.
China isn’t the only country standing alongside the U.S. at the GLFF. To date, this year’s festival boasts 20 musical groups from across the country and Canada, with more than 75 performances on five different stages. From jazz performers to a cowboy poet, Czech polka to bluegrass fiddles, there is something for everyone.
Alongside newcomers, the free, three-day festival also features returning favorites, like country music innovator Wylie Gustafason, of
Wylie and the Wild West. Gustafason is widely respected for rerouting country music, but he’s also the voice behind the “Yahoo-o-o!” on the
Yahoo! commercials.
Festival faithful Cara DeNuccio attends the festival every year. “To me, it really highlights East Lansing’s commitment to arts and culture, to respecting renowned musical talent and offering opportunities to new talent.”
DeNuccio remembers one year when her family spent a chunk of time standing in the middle of the street, listening to a group on the sidewalk. “They were awesome and clearly amateur–perhaps assembled that day.” A sizeable crowd gathered. “We were all really into it.”
“If I had to pay to hear the bands, the ticket would cost hundreds of dollars,” says Pat Harrington.
It’s not just the surprising reasonable cost that keeps him coming back to the free festival, year after year.
“The first year of the festival I had never heard of any of the performers,” says Harrington. “But as I attended sessions I was blown away by the expertise and quality of the sound. These people were simply the finest musicians I had ever heard.”
“And each year, although the musicians change, how great they are does not.”
Erica Foress is a freelancer writer who resides in Lansing’s Delta Township.
All photographs courtesy of Michigan State University Museum, Great Lakes Folk Festival.