Bishop Hill’s Midsommar Music Festival will return Saturday, June 24th with a strong line-up of musical performers. Highlights of this all-day event include Main Stage performances, a Swedish Maypole celebration, and an Old-Fashioned Barn Dance.

The free Main Stage performances in the village park gazebo will begin at 11:30 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. This year’s lineup includes Jazz on the Side, Hammer & Pick, Zak and Erin, and Black Hawk Pipes and Drums. Immediately following the Main Stage performances, everyone is invited to decorate the Maypole with flowers and to join the procession. Accordionist Ernie Sandquist will lead the Maypole procession. It will begin in the park and end at the Colony School where visitors can join in the Maypole dancing and have refreshments provided by the Bishop Hill Vasa Lodge. Later that evening, there will be a barn dance at the Colony School with The Rusty Pickup String Band and caller Gail Hintze. Admission to the barn dance is $5 per person.

The Bishop Hill Heritage Association will also be having its 2nd annual Rubarber Fundraiser. The BHHA will be serving homemade rhubarb baked goods, with coffee and lemonade, at the Steeple Building Museum front porch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Proceeds from this fundraiser will be used to support BHHA activities.

The Vasa National Archives, a short block from the park, will be offering a Midsummer Respite featuring a Kool-aid and cookie fika and a make and take clay station. The public is welcome to enjoy exhibits, get some light refreshments, and make a clay sculpture to take home. The Vasa National Archives will be open from 10-4 on June 24.

The Midsommar Music Festival is sponsored by the Bishop Hill Arts Council, co-sponsored by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, Bishop Hill State Historic Site, Bishop Hill Old Settler’s Association, Bishop Hill Vasa Lodge #683, and area businesses. Partial funding provided by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation. For directions and more info, visit www.bishophill.com, call 309-927-3899, or email bhha@mymctc.net.

 

Schedule for the day includes the following on the Main Stage in the center of the park in front of the gazebo:

              – MAIN STAGE –

Black Hawk Pipes & Drums                  11:30 am
Hammer & Pick              1 pm
Jazz on the Side              2 pm
Zak and Erin                    3 pm

 

***Maypole dressing begins at 4 pm and procession to the Colony    School begins just after it is dressed.

 

Barn Dance at the Colony School with The Rusty Pickup String Band – 7 pm. All dances called and taught by veteran caller Ms. Gail Hintze. No experience needed. Admission to the dance is $5 per person.