special section/progress-h

2012

ALSOINSIDE

Adam WhittingtonSinger songwriter actorworks on L.A. projects

PAGE 2H

Devos Art MuseumLautner exhibit a highpoint at DeVos

PAGE 3H

U.P. Children’s MuseumHonored in 2011

PAGE 4H

MarquetteChoral Society40-year anniversary

PAGE 5H

Marquette Artsand CultureProgramAlive and well

PAGE 5H

Glow Photo StudioMaking business dreamcome true

PAGE 6H

Marquette Sym-phony OrchestraFeatures special guests

PAGE 7H

Marquette AreaBlues FestStrong turnouts even withpoor weather

PAGE 8H

ARTS & CULTURE — SECTION HMONDAY, MARCH 26

PROGRESSA SPECIAL SECTION OF THE MINING JOURNAL

By RENEE PRUSIJournal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — Jeff Krebs, also knownas Papa Crow, received something excitingin the email the other day.

The Marquette musician’s CD “ThingsThat Roar” has been well received as thisemail reinforced.

“A teacher in Los Angeles took a photo ofsome kids drawings based on ‘Things ThatRoar’,” he said. “That’s the best. I’m havinga blast with it all and that’s what keeps megoing.”

“Things That Roar” is a 14-song CD oforiginal children’s music that’s earnedsalutes from websites around the country.It includes a number of musicians fromaround the area who play on various tracks.And it includes the voice of Krebs’ youngson, Billy, as part of the title tune.

The CD has led to some big things forKrebs.

“I've begun writing and recording my fol-low-up album to ‘Things That Roar’ at myhome studio,” Krebs said. “Really it's just aspare room in my house with a mic and alaptop, but it works well. !I am developingideas for other short projects includingsongs about nature, holidays, history, fami-ly and songs in Spanish.

“I have in development an app for theiPad/iphone based on ‘Things That Roar’aimed at kids that tells a story via the al-bums songs,” he said. “I'm hoping for asummer 2012 release of that.

“And I recently wrote and recorded a ‘cus-tom song’ for a soon-to-be 6-year-old inChicago, and am offering the service ofwriting and recording custom-made songsfor clients (about their kids).”

This summer, Papa Crow will be perform-ing locally at the Young Authors Conferenceat Northern Michigan University May 11; atthe Peter White Public Library in Marquetteon July 11; and at the Hiawatha TraditionalMusic Festival in Marquette July 21-22.

But that’s not all.“I've applied for a listing in the Michigan

Arts and Humanities Touring Directory, andam hoping this will lead to more perfor-mances throughout the state in the comingyears,” he said. “And I'm working on videoproduction tools to add to my video libraryat youtube.com/papacrowshow, and amconstantly updating my page atfacebook.com/papacrowshow.”

Renee Prusi can be contacted at 906-

228-2500, ext. 253. Her email address is

[email protected].

Papa CrowMarquette performer finds success with children’s music CD


MARQUETTE —Adam Whittington hasbeen one busy youngman.

The Ishpeming singer-songwriter-actor re-turned to Los Angelesafter a fun-filled Christ-mas vacation spendingtime with his family andfriends.

Ever since, he hasbeen non-stop betweenperformances andworking in the studio onsongs for a new CD.Whittington just recent-ly has taken on a be-hind-the-scenes rolewith the project involv-ing “Lundon’s Bridgeand The Three Keys.”

“Lundon’s Bridge andThe Three Keys” is a re-cently-released book byauthor Dennis H. Chris-ten, with 50 percent ofthe proceeds going tothe public school wherethe purchaser lives.

The movie version ofthe story has an expect-ed release in 2013 andwill star Paris Jackson,the daughter of leg-endary entertainerMichael Jackson.

Whittington’s song,“Make The World LoveAgain,” is being playedon the movie teaser fora Paris Jackson’s photoshoot and he is workingon more music for theproject.

To see/hear his songfor the photo shoot, vis-it www.lundons.com,where info on the bookand upcoming movie re-lease are also avail-

able.“I am so honored to be

working behind thescenes with Dennis H.Christen, author andproducer of ‘Lundon'sBridge and the ThreeKeys’ and that he chose‘Make The World LoveAgain’ for his movieteaser for Paris Jack-son's photo shoot,”Whittington said viaemail.

Whittington is workingon his new CD which isscheduled to be re-leased this spring. Hehas a variety of produc-ers he’s working with in-cluding Sean Alexanderand Drew Ryan Scott,who he has worked within the past.

He’s added producersSammy Naja from Ger-many and producer KCPrice out of New Yorkand other well-knownproducers will be an-nounced soon.

“I am very excited to beworking with some amaz-ing music producers formy new CD. My team isworking extra hard to getthe CD out this spring2012,” he said.

Whittington will alsobe working on a somemusic videos for hisnewest songs.

Another member re-cently joined Whitting-ton’s team: Joe Austin,the executive producerof the movie “Lundon’sBridge” and other soon-to-be released movies.

Austin has lived inMichigamme but is cur-rently working in LosAngeles. He joins

Adam’s mother, Teresa,in working on Adam’scareer.

“I cannot thank myteam enough for all thehard work they are do-ing to cause such greatthings to be happeningfor my career,” Whitting-ton said. “It takes a lotof work on their part andmine to see thingscome together and it’scool seeing it happen.”

An upcoming tour topromote the book andmovie will include booksigning by Christen andJackson, performancesby Whittington andspeaking by Jackson.

Tour dates and loca-tions will be announcedsoon.

Whittington recentlyalso met A.C. Green, aretired NBA basketballlegend from the Los An-geles Lakers. A projectis in the works whichwill include Whittingtonbeing on tour withGreen.

Details on that andother projects will beannounced when final-ized.

An Android app isavailable to keep fansupdated on Whitting-ton’s events andprogress with theiPhone app to be outsoon. People also cansign up for his newslet-ter on Whittington’swebsite.

Renee Prusi can be

contacted at 906-228-

2500, ext. 253. Her email

address is rprusi@min-

ingjournal.net.

2H -— The Mining Journal Monday, March 26 PROGRESS2012

Ishpeming singer-songwriteractor works on projects in L.A.

Adam Whittington performs during his “To You” concert at the Kaufman Auditori-um in March 2010. (Journal file photo)

Serving Our CommunitySince 1891

217 North Front Street, Marquette, MI 49855

906.228.9510 | FAX: 906.226.1783

www.pwpl.info

Find more at:• www.adamwhittington.com• www.facebook.com/adamwhittingtonmusic• www.twitter.com/adamwhittington• www.reverbnation.com/adamwhittington• www.lundons.com

The Mining Journal, Monday, March 26 — 3HPROGRESS2012

DeVos Art Museum had a busyyear with exhibits and shows

Left, shown is a welded steel armature with mixed media entitled “Dress Second Nature” by artist Marilyn Annin of Land O Lakes, Wis., as part of the North of the 45thParallel Juried Art Exhibition at the Devos Art Museum in 2011. Right, Chet DeFonso, of Marquette, looks at an acrylic painting entitled "Ancient Coats." (Journal file photos)

By JACKIE STARKJournal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — TheDeVos Art Museum hada busy year, with ex-hibits from many differ-ent artists, includingrenowned architect JohnLautner.

A series of events con-cerning Lautner’s inno-vative architecture tookplace from Aug.. 19 toNov. 13, and highlighteda range of the Marquettenative and NorthernMichigan Universitygraduate’s residentialarchitectural style.

Some of his most well-known works include theGarcia Residence andthe Chemosphere, bothlocated in Los Angeles.

The museum, locatedon NMU’s campus, alsopaid homage to themany art and design stu-dents earning workingon their degrees with ex-hibits throughout theyear that featured stu-dent work.

A group of 17 juniorand senior Human-Cen-tered Design studentsexhibited their proto-types in Milan, Italy.Their designs were partof the prestigious Sa-lone Satellite, an inter-national exhibition ofyoung, noteworthy de-signers that took placein April. The exhibitionwas frequented byroughly 400,000 people.

DeVos also held an ex-hibit for the students,displaying their proto-types in June.

The museum also heldexhibits for NMU’s seniorart and design students,

as it does every year,along with an exhibit fea-turing work from profes-sors in that departmentearly in the year.

The annual Upper Mid-west juried art exhibition“North of the 45th Paral-lel” also took place inJune last year, highlight-ing work from the manytalented artists livingnorth of the 45th inMichigan, Minnesotaand Wisconsin.

The exhibition wasmade up of 45 artistswho work in mediumsacross the spectrum.

Other exhibits, includ-ing the annual Mar-quette County Children’sExhibition and the annu-al UP: FOCUS serieshighlighted local talent.

The Children’s Exhibi-tion featured art createdby grade school childrenfrom schools within Mar-quette County.

UP: FOCUS featuredart from NMU ProfessorEmily Lanctot, who grewup in the KeweenawPeninsula and RyanBrayak, an artist basedout of Escanaba.

Though local artistsare commonly featuredin DeVos, it also held ex-hibits from artists acrossthe country, including anexhibit in June whichfeatured Chicago-basedartist Judith Brotman,who presented work inthe form of an installa-tion stitched on paper.

Jackie Stark can be

reached at 906-228-

2500, ext. 242. Her

email address is js-

[email protected].

Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge1106 N. Third, Marquette • 228-5012

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Lautner exhibit ahigh point at DeVos

4H — The Mining Journal, Monday, March 26 PROGRESS2012


MARQUETTE — Afteran award-filled 2011, theUpper Peninsula Chil-dren’s Museum is lookingat a busy 2012, much tothe delight of its director,Nheena Weyer Ittner.

“We were recognizedby the governor in Au-gust,” Ittner said. “We re-ceived the ReinventingMichigan Award, just thethird one in the state andthe first one given to acultural institution.

“It was really a featherin our cap,” she said.“There are a number ofexcellent cultural institu-tions in our state and tobe chosen as we were isa real honor.

“We took an old ware-

house and gave it awhole new life,” WeyerIttner said. “We built up asection of downtown thatwas decaying andhelped bring it back. Weare really honored withthat award.”

Weyer Ittner herselfearned two majorawards.

“And I couldn’t havedone that wihout the chil-dren’s museum,” shesaid.

One was the MarquetteCommunity Foundation’s2011 Citizen CommunityCatalyst award and theother was the ZontaClub’s Evergreen Award,given to a man or womanwho excels in their cho-sen business, professionor volunteer work; de-

votes time and energy toimproving the quality oflife of their community;and, most importantly,acts as a mentor forwomen and girls inreaching their leadershippotential.

“That was really nice.You don’t look for recog-nition, but when you getit, it is something thatmakes you feel reallyproud,” Weyer Ittnersaid.

At the always evolvingmuseum this year, onebig project for 2012 willinvolve a major exhibit.

“We’re going to redoour walk-through, climb-through body ‘IncredibleJourney’ exhibit,” WeyerIttner said. “We’re goingto redo it completely.”

The plans have not yetbeen finalized but are be-ing worked on, she said.

“The original exhibitwas designed by chil-dren, but what the kidscame up with when builtdidn’t keep all of the spir-it of it. What we endedup building did not keepthe whimsical nature ofwhat the kids had inmind.

“Now it’s time to startfresh.”

But some elements willcontinue for the exhibit.

“We have to keep theslide-down intestine withthe fart button. And wehave to keep the hugehead,” Weyer Ittner said.“Our target audience is12 and under, and wecan’t ignore the needs of

the littlest ones who are2 or 3. We will bring in in-tellectual elements butwe want to keep thelearning through play.”

Weyer Ittner knowswhat she has in mind.

“I want to see a kidwalk in the room andsqueal,” she said. “I wantthat right from the heartlaughter.”

The lighting and powerexhibit has been final-ized, showing kids howbiofuel works.

“Also, we just put in ashadow walk,” Weyer It-tner said. “We hired anew exhibits guy (Lan-don Stelwagen) and he’sa whimsical guy. He hasa little boy who’s 2 ormaybe 3 and Landonsees so much through

his little guy’s eyes.”The shadow walk is a

darkened room in whichthe youngster presses abutton.

“When they walk away,the shadow stays there,”she said. “The kids abso-lutely love it.”

Weyer Ittner said otherprograms that are part ofthe UPCM continue to bestrong, including the 8-18 Media project direct-ed by Dennis Whitleyand the Kid Biz programrun by Jim Edwards.

For more information,visit upcmkids.org.

Renee Prusi can be

contacted at 906-228-


address is rprusi@min-

ingjournal.net.

Children’s Museum honoredin 2011, looks toward 2012

Above, are images of Gov. Rick Snyder and State Rep. Steve Lindberg on his visit the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum in 2011. (Journal file photos)


MARQUETTE — TheMarquette Choral Soci-ety is celebrating its 40thyear with a pair of con-certs in April.

The fourth director inthe society’s 40 yearscan hardly believe howquickly his 25 seasonswith the group have goneby.

“It’s hard to imagine,really,” said Floyd Slot-terback, the group’s di-rector since 1986. “Ihave been the directorfor the longest.”

Steve Edwards andDouglas Amman werethe two directors who fol-lowed the group’sfounder, William Dehn-ing, in leading the organi-zation.

Slotterback said thehighlight, so far, of histenure involved a nation-ally known name: DaveBrubeck.

“We commissioned apiece and he and hisquartet were here, werepart of the performance,”he said. “It was quite anexciting experience.”

Slotterback, who is aprofessor at NorthernMichigan University, saidhis admiration forBrubeck started in 1961.

“Listening to him,learned about rhythm,”Slotterback said. “I wor-shipped his sound, hisoutstanding musician-ship. So to work withhim was the most excit-ing musical experienceof my life. To me, that’sthe most remarkableand exciting experiencemaybe I will ever have.”

One of the reasons theMCS has continued onstrong for 40 years is itsunique relationship withNMU.

“The society is part ofthe teaching load forwhoever is the choral so-ciety director,” he said.“So that’s a benefit to thesociety. Because its partof the teaching load, thesociety doesn’t have toraise money to pay its di-rector. The fundraising

can be for music and forprograms. That providesa firm financial founda-tion. It’s very helpful.

“The university is verysupportive through theyears,” Slotterback said.“And I am so pleasedthat the April concert canbe in the ReynoldsRecital Hall. That’s awonderful venue.

“And I am also sothankful to the folks at St.Peter Cathedral, wherewe have our Christmasconcert every year. I ap-preciate their willingnessto share their beautifulchurch with us.”

The MCS is unique inanother regard.

“It’s truly a community-based group because it’sa non-audition choir,”Slotterback said. “Itwould change the char-acter of the group tohave auditions. ... I likethat we sing with every-one who wants to. It has

worked out well.”And while the name

says Marquette, themembership roles say“community,” with mem-bers coming from Munis-ing, Big Bay, Ishpeming,Negaunee and otherparts of the central Up-per Peninsula.

Charter members ofthe choir, numberingnearly 20, will be hon-ored at the April concertswhich have as theirtheme, “400 Years of Sa-cred Music.” The con-certs are set for 7:30p.m. April 28 and 3 p.m.April 29 at the ReynoldsRecital Hall.

For more information,visit the MCS website atmqtchoral.nmu.edu/in-dex.html.

Renee Prusi can be con-

tacted at 906-228-2500,

ext. 253. Her email ad-

dress is rprusi@min-

ingjournal.net.

The Mining Journal, Monday, March 26 — 5HPROGRESS2012

Click [email protected] 227-ROCK (7625)

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Marquette Choral Society celebrates 40 years of great work

Top, the 1972 Marquette Choral Society is pictured. Above a recent image of thechoral society. (Photos submitted by Jim Godell)

The society is part of the teaching loadfor whoever is the choral society direc-tor. So that’s a benefit to the society. Be-cause its part of the teaching load, thesociety doesn’t have to raise money topay its director. The fundraising can befor music and for programs.

“

- FLOYD SLOTTERBACK

The Marquette Choral Society Director

”


MARQUETTE — Thecity of Marquette’s artsand culture program wasalive and well in 2011,with many events takingplace throughout theyear.

“It’s been a great year,”said Lea Dziesinski, artsprogramming coordina-tor. “Programs are ex-panding, the communityis very supportive and in-terested in fostering thearts within our communi-ty, so we’re thankful forthat.”

Dziesinski said she wasable to continue a part-nership with the Lake Su-perior Art Association,working with them to pur-chase new gallery lightingfor the lower level galleryinside of Peter WhitePublic Library.

The city also continuedits use of a City HallGallery, which featuresartists on a two-monthbasis.

“It’s gaining new expo-sure for those artists,”Dziesinski said. “Also, in-

creasing the level of cul-tural awareness in anoth-er city is important for us.”

The arts and cultureprogram also works withthe city’s senior center toprovide a once monthlysenior art project, whichDziesinski said was avery popular part of thecity’s arts program.

“We have a profession-al instructor that comes inand teachers those class-es,” she said, adding thatthe classes span a widevariety of mediums andare free and open to any-one in the community.

The program saw adrastic increase in thenumber of people attend-ing its quartlery workshopseries, which has in-creased by 125 percent,Dziesinski said.

“It’s awesome. We’rereally offering a lot of newclasses for al ages and allinterests,” she said.

The workshops are di-vided into four series,with about 45 classes ineach series. For a com-plete listing of courses,visit www.mqtcty.org.

Dziesinski said the pro-gram was able to contin-ue its first Thursday con-cert series, bringing sev-eral midwest and U.P.bands to the area.

November also saw theannual holiday arts sale,which Dziesinski saidusually brings about2,000 people to the artcenter.

Moving forward,Dziesinski said the pro-gram is always looking toforge new relationships tohelp continue growingarts and culture in Mar-quette.

“We’re interested in fos-tering arts and culturewithin new realms as wellas new partnerships,” shesaid.

Anyone interested inpartnering with the artsand culture program cancall 228-0472 or emailDziesinski at [email protected]

Jackie Stark can be

reached at 906-228-


address is jstark@min-

ingjournal.net.

City arts andculture programalive and well

From left, Charlie Stewart, Dorothy Kristola, Charon Porter, Cindy Deo, Joel Os-towski, Lea Dziesinski (City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Arts ProgrammingCoordinator), Judy Johnson, Jan Newlove, Diane Jarvi, Carolyn Synder and ChrysLevesqe-Hendrick attend a ribbon cutting ceremony. (Photo courtesy of City of Mar-quette Arts and Culture Center)

Glow Photo StudioBy JACKIE STARKJournal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — GlowPhoto Studio and Printingopened in December oflast year, with ownerDanielle Pemble leadingthe way.

“It was always a dreamof mine to open a studio,”said Pemble, a photogra-phy major who graduatedfrom Northern MichiganUniversity with a bachelorof fine arts. “I alwaysthought it was going to bedown the road, in the fu-

ture ... I got excited be-cause I knew it could ac-tually happen if I wanted itto. I’m young enough thatI feel like, why not do itnow? Why wait?”

The studio is locatedabove Sacred Tattoo Stu-dio in downtown Mar-quette and is offering avariety of services thatbranch off from what atypical photography stu-dio usually has available.

While Pemble does pro-vide wedding, engage-ment and senior photog-

raphy along with portraitsof any kind — babies,families, kids — she alsooffers event photographyfor local businesses look-ing for a professionaltouch.

As a former MiningJournal photographer,Pemble said she’s gottenthe chance to meet a lotof community members,and her background inphotojournalism may bejust what some business-es are looking for.

Glow also provides the

area with printing andgraphics services thatcan help area businessesbreathe new life into anold look.

“I’m really looking for-ward to working with oth-er businesses because Ifeel like we have a lot tooffer to businesses. Wecan do product photogra-phy, website photogra-phy, along with all of ourprinting capabilities andour graphics,” Pemblesaid. “Revamping theirwhole look and style —

that’s what I’m looking for-ward to starting to pur-sue.”

With word-of-mouthgarnering more businessthan was originally ex-pected, Pemble said sheand her two employeeshaven’t been able to findthe time to schedule a for-mal grand opening,though she is planning onhaving one in the future.

“We’ve been surprisedwith how much businesswe’ve gotten so far, justbecause we haven’t had

our grand opening yet,”Pemble said. “It’s all beenword of mouth so far, butsometimes, word ofmouth is the best way toget out there.”

For more information onGlow Photo Studio andPrinting, visit their websitea thttp://glowphotomqt.com.

Jackie Stark can be

reached at 906-228-



ingjournal.net.


Above left and right, images taken by Danielle Pemble at her studio. Glow pro-vides not only great photography but professional printing also. Below, KevinSchuldt, employee of Glow Photo Studio, is shown cropping images down. (Jour-nal photo by Matt Keiser)


MARQUETTE — TheMarquette Symphony Or-chestra, under the direc-tion of Dr. Jacob Chi, hada busy year in 2011, withspecial guest perfor-mances and a new holi-day season concert.

Wei-Wei Le performedin the MSO’s Oct. 15 con-cert. Le is a world-renowned violinist whohas performed recitalsand concerts all acrossthe globe. She has per-formed with the HongKong Philharmonic, theLondon Royal Philhar-monic Orchestra and theChinese Tianjin Sympho-ny Orchestra just to namea few.

MSO’s Business Man-ager Lea Dziesinski said

Le’s October perfor-mance in Marquette wasso well-received theBoard of Directors hasdecided to ask her backfor the upcoming 2012-2013 concert season.

Abigail Elder, a seniorfrom the CranbrookKingswood School inBloomfield Hills, Mich.and a Slotkin Scholar inmusic, also made a guestappearance in the MSO’sFeb. 25 concert, perform-ing Walton’s “Viola Con-certo” with the orchestra.

Elder received the thirdannual Youth ConcertoCompetition award thisyear as well.

The MSO also offeredsomething new in theirseries this year, with aspecial holiday concertDec. 17. Ticket prices

were lowered and theconcert length was short-ened to help accommo-date families who wishedto attend. A matinee washeld earlier in the dayalong with an eveningconcert.

“The matinee, and whatit offers the community, isan idea the board hopesto continue in the future,”said Dziesinski in anemail. “The evening holi-day concert was just aswell received with an al-most sold-out house.This holiday traditionadds to the month’s fes-tivities.”

The 2011-2012 seasonwill close with “Music ofthe Ages: from Mozart toMahler” on May 5. Ticketscan be purchased atNMU EZ Ticket Outlets or

by calling 906-227-1032.For more information on

the MSO, visit www.mar-quettesymphony.org orcall 906-228-0472.

“The Marquette Sym-phony Orchestra thanksthe community for theircontinued supportthroughout the years,”

Dziesinski said. “TheBoard of Directors trulybelieves that its organiza-tion makes a compellingimpact on the Marquettearea, both economicallyand culturally. However,this would not be possiblewithout an engaged audi-ence.”

For more information onthe MSO, visit www.mar-quettesymphony.org orcall 906-228-0472.

Jackie Stark can be

reached at 906-228-



ingjournal.net.

PROGRESS2012 The Mining Journal, Monday, March 26 — 7H

MSO season features specialguests, holiday concerts

Helping To Keep theUpper Peninsula Healthy

Recent HonorIn 2012, for the third consecutive year, UPHP received Plus One recognition from the Lake Superior Community Partnership, honoring the health plan as one of several local businesses that increased Marquette County’s workforce.

The StaffSince January 2011, the health plan has added four new full-time staff positions. It now employs 74 people who live and work in Marquette County.

The staff contributes time and resources to many regional and national charitable causes—including the United Way, the Salvation Army Adopt-a-Family Program, the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and the TV6 Canathon.

Employees contribute more than 200 combined personal hours each month to local civic, school, and church projects.

www.uphp.com

Since 1998, the Upper Peninsula Health Plan and its network of hospitals and medical providers have provided high-quality health care to the residents of the Upper Peninsula.

The health plan manages the care of more than 30,000 Upper Peninsula residents enrolled in Medicaid, MIChild, or Upper Peninsula Health Plan Plus (a Medicare Special Needs Plan).

The Upper Peninsula Health Plan ranks 20th among Medicaid managed-care plans in the United States (according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance Medicaid Health Plan Rankings 2011–2012). It ranks sixth among Michigan health plans.

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3033 US41 W, • Marquette • 228-3110

Left, harpist Nancy Redfern plucks at her strings during a past Marquette Symphony Orchestra’s concert “Vistas” at Kaufman Auditorium. Right, a row of violinists play“Wind River” by Joseph Curiale during a Marquette Symphony Orchestra's concert at Kaufman Auditorium. (Journal file photos)


MARQUETTE —Turnout was strong forthe eighth annual Mar-quette Area Blues Fest in2011, despite poorweather conditions.

“We had a second yearin a row of a bit of aweather issue, which isthe risk when you’re do-ing an outdoor event,”said director Walt Lin-dala. “Overall, we hadsome very hearty soulson one day, and a reallygood turnout on the oth-er, so we were able toturn a couple of bucks onit.”

The event took place inMarquette’s MattsonLower Harbor Park inearly September.

Perfomers includedRed, White & Blues,Madcat & Kane, The Kil-born Alley Blues Band,Mac Arnold & Plate FullO’ Blues, Mike Letts &The Marquettes, TheLark Brothers, The GasHouse Gorillas, TheRusty Wright Band andheadliner Joanne ShawTaylor, winner of the2010 British Blues Awardfor best female vocalist.Also headlong was She-mekia Copeland, whohas headlined for theChicago Blues Festivaland opened for theRolling Stones.

Lindala said all of theartists he had spokenwith were very happywith the festival and thewelcome they received,by both fans and festivalorganizers.

“They come here andthey see this venue andthey see this beautifulpark along the lake,” hesaid. “It ain’t an easy life.They’re in their van forseven hours coming hereand all they see is trees.They wonder where inthe heck they’re going.We want to make surethat when they get here,they have a good time.”

In addition to taking inthe performances, festi-val goers could perusemerchandise tents, graba bite from the food tentsof local restaurants andeven get a personal les-son in the blues. The fes-tival offered guitar andbones workshops as wellas a gospel praise work-shop.

Lindala said he’s hop-ing for another success-ful blues fest this year.

“I’m hoping for this yearto have two, good, nicesolid days of good weath-er,” he said.

Jackie Stark can be

reached at 906-228-



ingjournal.net.

Marquette Area Blues Fest still havingstrong turnouts even with poor weather


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Serving Marquette & Surrounding Areas Since 1977.

3 Locations To Serve You.Different Merchandise At Each Location.

All name brands –

US 41 West, Marquette

Clearance Center, US 41 West, Marquette

Broyhill Furniture Gallery: 1121 Ridge St., Marquette

• La-Z-Boy• Flexsteel• England• Kincaid• Sealy• Stearns & Foster• Lane• Canadel• Tempurpedic• Amish• Stanley• Vaughan-Bassett• Ashley• Catnapper / Jackson• Lea• Buhlen• Best• Broyhill• Chromecraft

We had a second year ina row of a bit of a weatherissue, which is the riskwhen you’re doing an out-door event. Overall, wehad some very hearty soulson one day, and a reallygood turnout on the other,so we were able to turn acouple of bucks on it.

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- WALT LINDALA

Marquette Area Blues Fest Director

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Above left, Jayne Hauptman and Terry Dinnoceucodanced while the Gas House Gorillas played on stageduring the 2011 Marquette Blues Fest. Above right, leadsinger Rick Fink and saxophone tenor player Jim Davisof the the Gas House Gorillas had fun jamming duringtheir performance. (Journal photos by Adelle Whitefoot)

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