BlankYup, I was thinking that when I saw the article. I did actually attend
the
MSB gathering last ummer, parially because Kathy Warth was coming. And, it was
the last time I saw Gary Wood.
----- Original Message -----
From: Vickie
To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2018 9:44 PM
Subject: [msb-alumni] Re: FYI: 2018 Great Lakes Folk Festival Cancelled
Oh, so Steve, that means you can attend the MSB alumni reunion/gathering, Marie
Reh puts together. Smile.
Vickie Rolison
From: Steve
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2018 6:15 PM
To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [msb-alumni] FYI: 2018 Great Lakes Folk Festival Cancelled
Great Lakes Folk Festival cancels 2018 Mike Hughes, For the Lansing State
Journal
The Great Lakes Folk Festival -- a local staple, under various names, for three
decades -- won't be happening this summer. That much seems definite. What
people
disagree on is what happens next. To Marsha MacDowell, the
festival co-founder, this will end the festival forever. "We have a fragile
structure, to pull it off," she said. There would be no way to put it back
together. To Mark Auslander, the MSU official who decided to drop it, this
isn't
that drastic. Given a year off, he said, "we could broaden it and bring
in a more diverse audience. Mark Meadows, the East Lansing mayor, sees some
logic in that. "My observation is that it has been dropping in attendance,"
he said. That could change "with a year off so they could re-imagine it. The
MSU
Museum and City of East Lansing issued a joint statement: "The MSU Museum
has determined that the Great Lakes Folk Festival should be placed on a
one-year
hiatus during 2018. The City of East Lansing recognizes and understands
that taking a pause to consider the long-term future direction of the festival,
combined with the extensive construction in the downtown area, affords
both the MSU Museum and the City an opportunity to continue to work together in
a productive process in the months ahead. We look forward to a joint effort
between the MSU Museum and the City of East Lansing in facilitating community
conversations regarding a new version of this highly visible and popular
festival. Meadows sees it as "an opportunity"; folk fans disagree. Ron
Eggleston, who presented blues acts, said he was "kind of stunned. Drew Howard,
who was in two bands at last year's event, said he was "devastated .... If they
take this away, what's next? Pat Power, who was the festival booker through
last summer, echoed that. "It's a sad day .... It's really disheartening to see
cultural events get taken away from people. Sally Potter, who created the
"community sing" tent at the festival, called it "a very brash move by someone
who's new to the community. of the audience often get to their feet in
appreciation
of the performances at the Great Lakes Folk Festival in 2016. (Photo: Robert
Killips | Lansing State Journal files) Auslander was appointed a year ago
as head of the MSU Museum, which runs the festival. He took over on July 1, a
month before the 2017 event. "A lot of people love the festival and it's
kind of like an old shoe," he said. Still, he said, there's potential to
include
"some new kinds of acts with a different following, maybe a little edgier.
Adding to that, Meadows said, are logistic problems, with a key site being used
for construction. "There couldn't be a better year to take some time off.
Those problems had already been taken care of, MacDowell said. Adds Potter:
"There are a lot of easy ways to address that. They could use Hannah (Community
Center); they could use Valley Court Park. Another timing issue involves lining
up the acts. Most had already been booked, MacDowell said, although the
contracts hadn't been sent out. Already set were performers that do Puerto
Rican, Finnish, Irish and African music, plus blues, old-time and klezmer.
Individuals
include a Hindustani vocalist and Sidiki Conde, an acclaimed West African
singer
and dancer. A 20-member Taiwan music group had booked its plane reservations.
The funding was already in place, MacDowell said. Dropping the festival for a
year, Potter argued, has a permanent effect: "When you halt an event dead
in its tracks, the event loses all momentum, sponsors, volunteers ... and, most
of all, good will. Read more: Meadows, however, feels some of that had
already drained; a year of rethinking might revive it. Back in 1987, MacDowell
and her husband, Kurt Dewhurst, launched the Festival of Michigan Folklife,
as part of the Michigan Festival. It did one summer alone, after the larger
festival folded. Then East Lansing landed the National Folk Festival, from
1999 to 2001. "It's hard to compare anything to how successful that was,"
Meadows said. "We had over 150,000 people every year. The national event moves
every three years, hoping to leave a regional spin-off behind. In this case,
the
Great Lakes event began; MacDowell has estimated annual attendance at
80,000. Budget cuts, however, eliminated evening concerts at Valley Court Park,
the most popular portion with young audiences. The festival could no longer
land such well-known acts as Natalie MacMaster, Ralph Stanley, Eileen Ivers,
Doc
Watson, Beausoleil and Cherish the Ladies. "Even with the limited budget,
I though Pat Power did a tremendous job of getting good acts. Eggleston said.
That left a gap, he granted. When top blues acts Guy Davis last year, Thornetta
Davis (no relation) previously performed, "there was some diversity, but the
audience was mainly older white people."
