Maritime Songs and Stories at the Washington Island Folk Festival

Sailor’s songs and fishermen’s tales will be part of the maritime theme of the Washington Island Folk Festival this year. A wide variety of island musicians and storytellers, as well as some surprise performers, will be featured on Friday, July 11 at the Red Barn.

This is always an entertaining night of original and favorite folk tunes, verse and usually some musical surprises, set in the special atmosphere of the Red Barn. Returning with a new set of nautical songs will be the trio of Margaret Foss, Cindra Hokkanen and Kathi O’Connor, performing a cappella. Dan Hansen will perform with Jenny Munao and the High School choir. Fritz Damler will lament the tale of Edmond Fitzgerald, and Rich Hansen and his daughter, Annabelle, will be singing a couple of their favorite maritime tunes. Jake Ellefson, one of the island’s last commercial fisherman, will tell some good sea stories and a host of other performers will honor the lake around us with their maritime-themed performances.

This year, the Saturday night performance at the Trueblood Performing Arts Center will open with island musicians Ed and Rose Sheehy and then back by popular demand, Claudia Schmidt. If that isn’t enough, Rose and Edward Sheehy will bring their special chemistry and island folk history to the stage.

Doors open at 7:30 pm for both performances. Tickets are $5 or $20 per family for the Friday night Red Barn performance and $12 for the TPAC performance.

For more information on the folk festival contact John Yancey at 847.370.2359 or [email protected] or Dan Hansen at 920.847.2717 or [email protected].