From finger-lickin’ foods and knee slapping tunes to crafty arts and captivating storytelling, the Great Lakes Folk Festival provided thousands of festivalgoers with a good ol’ time.
For East Lansing resident Barbara Kohls the festival was a freeing event.
“This weekend, I said no to diet foods and no to watching the calories,” said Kohls, while enjoying a homemade root beer. “I’m going to enjoy myself.”
Kohls said she enjoyed tasting the foods from the several venues featuring dishes from around the globe.
“This festival had several food varieties,” Kohls said. “More than I have ever seen.
“The Ethiopian spicy chicken from Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine was very good.”
Kohls said she was impressed with the area, as the festival marked her first.
“For this to be such a small area there’s a lot going on here,” Kohls said. “The tourism events are very nice.”
Besides the food, Kohls said she was impressed with the live entertainment.
“(Nathan and the Zydeco) Cha-Chas were very good,” she said. “I like them because they get you dancing.”
Great culture and music weren’t the only things heating up the festival during the weekend. Mother Nature put her 2 cents in with temperatures in the low-to-mid-90s the whole weekend.
Dressed coolly in a white summer outfit, Kohls managed to enjoy the festival, despite the sun beaming bright all three days.
“I wear sunproof clothing so that I can protect my skin,” said Kohls, who mentioned she was at high risk of skin cancer. “I put sunblock on exposed areas and go on and enjoy my day. I won’t let that control how much fun I can have.”
The Bahamas’ Junkanoo parade group encouraged festival attendants to have fun with its inclusive dance-line that had several people dancing in the streets. The band opened the festival Friday evening with a lively rendition of what takes place in the Bahamas during the actual Junkanoo celebration.
“This type of colorful celebration is how we celebrate every January 1st at home in the Bahamas,” group member Kevin Fersuson said. “But at home there are nearly 700 people performing.”
The culturally educating and entertaining group also wanted to encourage people to come and see for themselves what the Bahamas has to offer.
“We’re here to show people what our culture and customs are all about,” Fersuson said. “And we’re hoping this will make people want to visit the Bahamas.”
Later Friday evening, Agatha Marcelle, parliamentary secretary of Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, received a key to the city of East Lansing by MSU Museum director C. Kurt Dewhurst, on behalf of Mayor Mark Meadows. She said she was excited about the connection between her organization and the university.
“It was wonderful to bring the Bahamas’ Junkanoo over here and perform,” Marcelle said. “Hopefully we’ll build a meaningful relationship from this and start a student exchange program.”
Nine-year-old Whitney Simpson said she found the Junkanoo performance entertaining. It sparked excitement in Simpson, who will be going to the Bahamas for her 10th birthday.
“I’m really excited about going to the Bahamas with my grandma, and I get to take a friend, too,” she said.
Simpson attended the festival with her grandmother Marsha Bushaw, who said she was a regular attendant of the National Folk Festival. Bushaw said the Great Lakes Folk Festival is good and filled with potential.
“It’s smaller, but it’s just as fun. It still has gotten everybody out and we’ve had great fun,” Bushaw said. “They still have great food and music.”
The music, which was showcased on three stages spread throughout the festival between M.A.C. Avenue and Valley Court Drive, filled the air as festivalgoers traveled from end-to-end enjoying art collections and tasting great foods.
