Rush River Folk Festival Centers Community, Art
with its 11th year just around the corner, free-to-attend event welcomes all
McKenna Scherer, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
Returning for its 11th year at the end of August, the Rush River Folk Festival will welcome attendees to relish in a community gathering centered around a full afternoon of music – featuring Chippewa Valley favorites – Italian food served outdoors, and a sunset bonfire at Vino in the Valley.
About an hour away from Eau Claire, Vino in the Valley (Maiden Rock) owners are collaborating with David Jones (musically known as Davey J) for another year of the folk festival, scheduled to run from noon to 8:30pm on Saturday, Aug. 31. There is no cover charge to enjoy the event, and parking will be free.
The music kicks off at 1pm with Luke Fischer, followed by Garden Party from 3-4:30pm and Davey J’s One-Man Acoustical Band from 5-6:30pm. After the afternoon fades into evening, local favorites Eggplant Heroes will end the night with a performance 7-8:45pm.
If most of those musicians feel familiar, you’re either keyed into the local music scene and/or are a current or former student in the area. Six of the lineup’s performers are current or former professors and teachers (Duffy Duyfhuizen, Max Garland, and Joel Pace of Eggplant Heroes are UWEC English professors; Tom Lockhart of Garden Party is a UWEC physics professor emeritus; and Garden Party’s Marjorie Craemer is a former North High School math teacher).
“I have a few theories,” said Jones – himself the interim chairman of the English Department at UWEC as well as a musician — as to why these local educators are also musicians. “All of us are community-minded and enjoy bringing people together. We have creative spirits and are inspired by art of all kinds; We are joyful listeners to music performed by others.”
“All of us are inspired by folk music from many places that is so sincere and so touching for a lot of audiences,” Jones said. Plus, teaching is also a kind of performance, he noted.
In previous years crowds as large as 1,000 attended the fest. And while the event is free to attend, musicians will have merchandise available for purchase and accept tips. However, putting on Rush River Folk Festival, an event that has continued to be well-received and attended at a beautiful location, is itself enriching.
“I’ll add that for me, and probably for the other English professors, playing music is a tribute to the beautiful artifacts and human stories we have created in the United States,” Jones said. “We believe that all generations should hear these stories.”
The 11th annual Rush River Folk Festival will take place at Vino in the Valley (W3826 450th Ave, Maiden Rock) on Saturday, Aug. 31, from noon-8:30pm • Admission and parking is free • View the Facebook event for updates
