June 1 Bishop Hill Folk Music Festival
On Saturday June 1, 2024, the Bishop Hill Heritage Association will host the Bishop Hill Folk Music Festival. Located in the village park in the center of Bishop Hill Illinois, this one-day festival will present some of the best-known folk music performers from around Illinois, such as Bucky Halker, Barry Cloyd, and many more. The musical styles presented will span a wide range of folk music including Hammered Dulcimer, Swedish, and Woody Guthrie songs to name just a few. In addition, Mike Anderson, the Dulcimer Guy, will conduct a presentation about the Beauty of the Mountain Dulcimer in the Steeple Building Museum at noon. All the concerts and the presentation are free and open to the public. Music starts at 10 a.m. and continues throughout the day.
The historic town is a perfect place to present the musical heritage of the Midwest. In 1846, a group of Swedish immigrants seeking religious freedom left their native land under the guidance of their charismatic spiritual leader, Eric Janson. The site for their new utopia, later called Bishop Hill, was described to them as a “land of plenty, brimming with milk and honey.” Today Bishop Hill is a quiet country village where the charm and character of the original colony have survived the test of time. Bishop Hill is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is a National Historic Landmark, and is also an Illinois State Historic Site.
This event is funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council, the Galesburg Community Foundation and the Geneseo Foundation. For more details, you can call 309 927-3899 or email bhha@mymctc.net. Information about this festival is also posted on www.bishophillheritage.org and the Bishop Hill Heritage Association Facebook page.
Concert Schedule for Saturday June 1
(main stage is located next to the park gazebo in the center of the village park)
10 a.m. Hammer & Pick
11 a.m. Coffee Creek
1:00 Bucky Halker
2:00 Bucktown Americana Music Show
3:00 Barry Cloyd
June 21 Stitched Shibori, Clay Resist and Mandalas plus Indigo Dyeing Class (2-day workshop,
taught by Sheri Wood
Friday, June 21, 2024 (9.am.-3p.m.) plus your choice of Thursday, June 27 OR Saturday, June 29
On June 21st, we will explore some advanced resist methods for patterning indigo, including Stitched Shibori designs, painting, stenciling and stamping with clay resist, and more detailed tying techniques to create Mandala or snowflake designs. We will spend the day working on the different techniques and designs, you may take home your stitched and tied items to complete before the dyeing class next week. Please leave your clay resist items with Sheri to finish drying before next week’s class.
You will choose which day, Thursday June 27 or Saturday June 29 the next week to return for dyeing. We will work with both fresh indigo and vat indigo to color your projects.
Material and most supplies will be provided at class, but feel free to bring along natural fiber fabric or small clothing items from home to use. Bring along an apron, your needlework scissors, thimble and assortment of needles.
Class will meet at the 1854 Dairy Building, 410 N. Erickson Street, Bishop Hill, IL 61419. We will take a lunch break around noon, please visit one of the local restaurants or bring your lunch. Class size is limited to 10 people. Class fee is $150. And includes 2 days of class and most supplies. For more information or to sign up for class, contact Sheri at: sheri_jeanne@hotmail.com or (309) 299-8007. Partially sponsored by the BHHA.
June 27 Fresh Indigo and Vat Indigo Dyeing Class, taught by Sheri Wood
Class is from 8 am. to 3 p.m. at the Dairy Building. Please join me for fun day of exploring the magic of dyeing with Indigo! Starting with natural fibers and materials, we will add patterns and watch the magic as the fabrics change from white to yellow to blue right in front of your eyes. We will start out the day, meeting at the 1854 Dairy Building, 410 North Erickson Street, Bishop Hill, IL and take a short walk to the indigo patch to harvest the fresh indigo (Japanese Indigo or persicaria tinctoria), along the way we’ll discuss planting growing, harvesting and seed saving of these plants. We will then use the freshly harvested leaves to color our fabric using 3 different techniques- salt rub, ice dyeing and leaf pounding. Before lunch break, we will start our indigo vats and prepare items for the afternoon vat dyeing by clamping, tying, and folding materials.
After the lunch break, we will spend the afternoon dipping and dyeing our fabric and other materials. We will discuss how to finish your projects at home, and suggestions for different uses for your treasures. Material and supplies will be provided at class, but feel free to bring along fabric or small clothing items from home to use, natural fibers dye best. I will provide samples of many different natural fabrics and yarns for you to dye. Bring along an apron, or wear clothing that make be shades of blue before the day is over. Everyone will take home their samples to finish at home, starts of the plants, and class handouts including sources for supplies, instructions for what we did in class, and directions for finishing your samples at home.
We will take a lunch break around noon, please visit one of the local restaurants or bring your lunch.
Class size is limited to 10 people. Class fee is $75. And includes class and most supplies. For more information or to sign up for class, contact Sheri at: sheri_jeanne@hotmail.com or (309) 299-8007.
Partially sponsored by the BHHA.
June 29 Fresh Indigo and Vat Indigo Dyeing Class, taught by Sheri Wood
Class is from 8 am. to 3 p.m. at the Dairy Building. Please join me for fun day of exploring the magic of dyeing with Indigo! Starting with natural fibers and materials, we will add patterns and watch the magic as the fabrics change from white to yellow to blue right in front of your eyes. We will start out the day, meeting at the 1854 Dairy Building, 410 North Erickson Street, Bishop Hill, IL and take a short walk to the indigo patch to harvest the fresh indigo (Japanese Indigo or persicaria tinctoria), along the way we’ll discuss planting growing, harvesting and seed saving of these plants. We will then use the freshly harvested leaves to color our fabric using 3 different techniques- salt rub, ice dyeing and leaf pounding. Before lunch break, we will start our indigo vats and prepare items for the afternoon vat dyeing by clamping, tying, and folding materials.
After the lunch break, we will spend the afternoon dipping and dyeing our fabric and other materials. We will discuss how to finish your projects at home, and suggestions for different uses for your treasures. Material and supplies will be provided at class, but feel free to bring along fabric or small clothing items from home to use, natural fibers dye best. I will provide samples of many different natural fabrics and yarns for you to dye. Bring along an apron, or wear clothing that make be shades of blue before the day is over. Everyone will take home their samples to finish at home, starts of the plants, and class handouts including sources for supplies, instructions for what we did in class, and directions for finishing your samples at home.
We will take a lunch break around noon, please visit one of the local restaurants or bring your lunch.
Class size is limited to 10 people. Class fee is $75. And includes class and most supplies. For more information or to sign up for class, contact Sheri at: sheri_jeanne@hotmail.com or (309) 299-8007.
Partially sponsored by the BHHA.
July 20 Basket Weaving Workshop
At the Dairy Building from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., learn how to make an ivy basket from instructor Linda Simmons. $15 per person, max of 10 people for this class. Participants are asked to bring with them the following items: a towel, a pail, and some hand-held garden shears. All other materials will be provided and lunch will be on your own. Call 309 927-3899 or email bhha@mymctc.net for more details or to register. The Dairy Building is located at 410 North Erickson Street. Sponsored by the BHHA and the Illinois Art Council Agency, a state agency.
Aug. 17 Fresh Indigo and Vat Indigo Dyeing Class, taught by Sheri Wood
Class is from 8 am. to 3 p.m. at the Dairy Building. . Please join me for fun day of exploring the magic of dyeing with Indigo! Starting with natural fibers and materials, we will add patterns and watch the magic as the fabrics change from white to yellow to blue right in front of your eyes. We will start out the day, meeting at the 1854 Dairy Building, 410 North Erickson Street, Bishop Hill, IL and take a short walk to the indigo patch to harvest the fresh indigo (Japanese Indigo or persicaria tinctoria), along the way we’ll discuss planting growing, harvesting and seed saving of these plants. We will then use the freshly harvested leaves to color our fabric using 3 different techniques- salt rub, ice dyeing and leaf pounding. Before lunch break, we will start our indigo vats and prepare items for the afternoon vat dyeing by clamping, tying, and folding materials.
After the lunch break, we will spend the afternoon dipping and dyeing our fabric and other materials. We will discuss how to finish your projects at home, and suggestions for different uses for your treasures. Material and supplies will be provided at class, but feel free to bring along fabric or small clothing items from home to use, natural fibers dye best. I will provide samples of many different natural fabrics and yarns for you to dye. Bring along an apron, or wear clothing that make be shades of blue before the day is over. Everyone will take home their samples to finish at home, starts of the plants, and class handouts including sources for supplies, instructions for what we did in class, and directions for finishing your samples at home.
We will take a lunch break around noon, please visit one of the local restaurants or bring your lunch.
Class size is limited to 10 people. Class fee is $75. And includes class and most supplies. For more information or to sign up for class, contact Sheri at: sheri_jeanne@hotmail.com or (309) 299-8007.
Partially sponsored by the BHHA.
Aug. 24 Bishop Hill Chautauqua
Join us for this historical re-enactment brought to life through storytelling and performing. Spend a Saturday in the village park with several characters from our past, such as Mrs. Mary Lincoln and pilot Amelia Earhart. In the afternoon, enjoy Fika with some of the performers in the park, and then later that evening, enjoy a dinner theater at the Bishop Hill Creative Commons. Programs in the park are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the BHHA at 309 927-3899 or bhha@mymctc.net. Organized by the BHHA, Fox Tales International, and the Twinflower Inn. Funded by Community State Bank, Geneseo Foundation, Galesburg Community Foundation, and Illinois Arts Council Agency, a state agency.
Sept. 28-29 Agriculture Days – Jordbruksdagarna
As always, there will be a variety of traditional craft demonstrations, music, food, dancing, vendors, and hands-on activities for the children during Jordbruksdagarna (Swedish for “earth work days”). Enjoy the petting zoo and the antique tractor display, with demonstrations. This 19th century harvest festival is free and open to the public. Email bhha@mymctc.net or call 309 927-3899 for more information. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Organized by the BHHA. Funded by the Illinois Art Council Agency, Nature’s Creations, Wilbur and Marilyn Nelson, Peck Farms, River Valley Cooperative, State Bank of Toulon, TerraForm Power by Brookfield Renewable, and the Henry County Independent Insurance Agents Association.
Please call 309 927-3899 or email bhha@mymctc.net to confirm dates and times.
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