Welcome to the Folk Festival History !

Folk Fest was born in 1990, when local resident Gloria Ebli returned from a trip to the Copper Country, where she had seen a performance by the folk dance troupe called the Tamburitzans. She wanted to bring that group to Manistique, and started talking about the idea with members of the Manistique Merchants Association and others. Eventually, a committee was formed. Some of those early workers included Ebli, Gail LaCroix, Ted Hentschell, Chris Keener, Louise Thompson, Joanne Sartori, Mary Kay Wood and Lynn Ziminski.

Rather than pursuing a one-time performance by the Tamburitzans, the decision was made to create a special festival, giving local residents a chance to sample the food and music of different cultures and experience things they might otherwise never have a chance to see.

Despite a financial loss of $300, the first Folk Fest was deemed a success, and since then it has gone on to become one of the most popular events on Schoolcraft County's annual calendar. Held each year on the second Saturday of July, it draws people from all over Michigan and other states. Local residents look forward to it. Visitors plan their vacations around it. Former residents time their trips home to coincide with it, and many Manistique High School alumni schedule their class reunions for "Folk Fest Weekend."

For most of its existence, Folk Fest was spearheaded by Gail LaCroix, who worked tirelessly around the clock, around the calendar, to make each year's festival a success. She was the event's biggest supporter, hardest worker, and singlehandedly kept it alive, even when times were tough.

In 2002, when LaCroix received the annual Folk Fest Folk Hero award, one committee member had this to say: "Without her, Folk Fest would have disappeared a long time ago. She was always there with a solu-tion when a new problem cropped up. She was the one dealing with the red tape. She was the one always coming up with new ideas. She was the one who rounded up enough helpers every year. She was the one who forced the rest of us to get busy and have a meeting, when we really didn’t want to. It was Gail who did all of that. She always got the job done when it needed to get done."

Following LaCroix's death in 2003, Folk Fest continued under the leadership of a small group of former co-workers. After the 2005 festival, the dwindling committee admitted that they could no longer keep things going without help, and a plea was made to the community to step forward and lend a hand to keep Folk Fest alive. Fortunately, the plea was answered, and this year's 17th annual event has a corps of chairpersons and volunteers that is larger, stronger and more enthusiastic than ever.

FOLK HEROES

Each year, the Folk Fest Committee honors a member of the community with a special "Folk Hero" award. In its earliest days, the honor went to those who had gone above and beyond the call of duty to help the festival. Later, the award was expanded to pay tribute to many different kinds of volunteers for their service to the community in general.

Each year's Folk Hero is announced several days before the festival. The recipient of the award is profiled in the Pioneer-Tribune and honored during the Folk Fest opening ceremonies. In a unique tradition, they also receive a bright red Folk Hero vest, which they can proudly wear as a sign of their special honor.

Past Folk Heroes:

1990 None
1991 Bud Malloy
1992 Rev. Roy Pitts
1993 Ted Hentschell, Sr.
1994 Chris Keener
1995 John Ozanich
1996 Marcus Bosanic
1997 Dell O’Brien
1998 Cindy Strasler
1999 Ed Havitz
2000 David Vaughan
2001 Tom Hoholik
2002 Gail LaCroix
2003 Leroy Fox
2004 Rev. Ingmar Levin
2005 Dorothy Hoholik
2006 Dick Ketcik
2008 Roger Irie
2009 TBA

FUN

FOOD

ART

GAMES

DANCING

MUSIC

BEER GARDEN

PET PARADE

CRAFTS

PAPER CHASE