Family Festival

Saturdays July 10, 17, & 24, 2010 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Free Admission
Family Activities, Entertainment, & Demonstrations
Arts, Crafts, and Vendor Sale
Food Wagons
Children's Activity Area: Games, crafts, face painting
Historic Bus Tours
Laura & Nellie Look-Alike Contest July 10 & 17
Pony Rides & Train Rides * small fee charged

Art Exhibit
July 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 2010 2:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Walnut Grove Community Center
311 6th Street Walnut Grove

Wilder Pageant
July 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 2010
Performance 9:00 pm each night
Tickets 888-859-3102

Demonstrators / Exhibitors
Dave Doubler - Civil War Exhibit and Reenactments
Wally Hunter - Old Time Blacksmith
Norm Peterson - Wood Carver
Connie Peterson - Weaver
Ron Kelsey - Seed Art & Corn Shelling
Sarah Davis - Corn Husk Dolls
Julie Jakobi - Corn Husk Dolls
John Sterner - Caricature Art
Erin Richards - Jewelry Making

Special Entertainment

Alison Arngrim
Nellie Oleson from the "Little House" TV Series
Appearing in Walnut Grove July 24, 2010

Dean Butler
Almanzo Wilder from the "Little House" TV Series
Appearing in Walnut Grove July 17, 2010

Lauren Lee and Liberty Road will be attending the Family Festival on July 10, 2010. Lauren Lee and Liberty Road are from Southeastern Oklahoma. Lauren began playing fiddle at 13 and started singing at 17. She always had a desire to learn to fiddle after discovering Alison Krause at a young age. She learned all of the basics on her own by ear and 3 years into her playing, her music took a turn of a lifetime. She was introduced to Herman Johnson of Shawnee. Herman is a Master Fiddler who has won many competitions including National Championships. Lauren studied with Herman for over 4 years. Together with her brother on guitar, father on percussions and family friend playing bass, Lauren Lee will entertain the crowd with her amazing fiddle playing.

Joel Schaan, Scott Devlin & Toby Schaan
July 24, 2010. Acoustic Music performances throughout the day.
From the great northern plains of the Dakotas, east to the Twin Cities, straight down the Mississippi, stopping in Memphis, all the way to New Orleans and back again.... the true Midwestern journey...round trip. No matter where you go, people aren't really that different, are they? You've got the farmers, the office workers, the musicians, the politicians, and everywhere you go you find incredible souls. You also find love and hate and bad seeds. You find people who really want to help you out, and people who couldn't care less whether you live or die. Then you find a few people who just want to come along for the ride. It seems Joel Schaan has met them all.... or at least all kinds. His songs speak to each and every one of them, from the girls he never really wanted to know.... to the cowboys and the junkies... and the freaks on Bourbon Street, everyone has a story to tell.

Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemaking
July 17, 2010. Native American story telling and presentations. Bud & Rona Johnston demonstrate the art of Native American Beadwork & Pipemaking along with sharing their knowledge of the MN Native American Families of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Full size Teepee & furnishings.

John J. Koblas Western Author/Lecturer, Jesse James Authority
Will be attending the Family Festival on July 24, 2010. He will be speaking about Jesse James at 12:00 noon followed by book signing. He is planning on spending most of the afternoon visiting with folks about his books.

John J. Koblas is the author of 62 nonfiction books focusing on U.S. history and American literary figures as well as a popular fiction series for young readers. Lately he has served as a consultant and script writer for various television documentaries including Discovery Channel, History Channel, PBS American Experience, as well as independent film companies. www.mnriv.com/koblas.html

Lonesome Ron Cowboy Singing, Folk Songs, Stories & Yodeling
will be performing at the Festival July 17, 2010 throughout the day. Lonesome Ron entertains you with his western shows singing and yodeling cowboy songs from the great cattle trails of the American west. His music is filled with rich American traditions from roundup songs to the classics of the singing cowboys. Audiences are intrigued with his historical knowledge of cowboys driving cattle as well as stories about the Hollywood cowboys.

The Second Annual Car, Truck, Motorcycle, & Tractor Show
will be held July 24, 2010, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

For questions or comments about the Family Festival:
Familyfestival@walnutgrove.org

Family Festival information call 507-859-2358

To participate as a Vendor/Demonstrator/Craftor:
Familyfestivalvendors@walnutgrove.org

**This Festival is made possible with the grants we have received from SMAHC (The Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council), the Minnesota Arts Board, and the Walnut Grove Foundation.