EVENT PARTNERS

Friday

Join us Friday night as we open the first-ever Bigfoot and Bluegrass Festival in Gwinn, Michigan. Located in the heart of Upper Michigan. The Festival is located in Peter Nordeen Park in the center of Gwinn.

NOTE: Friday night we will have a beer tent serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, but we will not have food or craft vendors.

6:00 - 6:30 pm - Opening Announcements

Executive Director, Alan Cook talks about Forsyth Forward and Explore Our Wild

Scavenger Hunt sheets turned in at the Forsyth Forward table.

6:30 - 7:15pm - Marty Achatz, Poet

Marty Achatz

Two-time Poet Laureate of the Upper Peninsula, Marty has been a Contingent Professor in the English Department at Northern Michigan University for close to 30 years. Prior to that, he taught in Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Growing up in Ishpeming, he got his Master’s Degree in Fiction and MFA in Poetry from Northern Michigan University. Marty appears regularly on the radio variety show The Red Jacket Jamboree. Marty enjoys hunting for Bigfoot with his son in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula. He will share some Bigfoot poems from his latest book, A Bigfoot Bestiary and Other Wonders.

7:30 - 11:00 pm - Fundraiser for Jack Gauthier’s Family

Come out to the park and enjoy a Free concert with Gabe Bailey as we raise money for Jack’s family.

Donations will be accepted at the show.

This show is made possible by the generous support of Mike Picotte and Forsyth Forward.

Jack Gauthier

Music by Gabe Bailey

Saturday

Festival grounds at Peter Nordeen Park open at 12 Noon for guests.

The Bigfoot Stomp 5K Run/Walk will take place on Saturday 27 September and begin in Peter Nordeen park (Festival grounds). Registration is open at 9 am.
The route will take you from the park, up Spruce Street, cross on Northgate Drive. Then traverse through Tourist Park and Flat Rock Trail. Once you have completed the Flat Rock Trail loop you will rejoin the trail crossing back over Northgate Drive, along Spruce Street to the finish line in Peter Nordeen Park.
This run/walk is not intended to be a competitve race, moreso a family friendly event. Costumes are also welcome and encouraged.
There is no cost to participate in ths event. The day of the event you will be required to sign a waiver of liability and for children under the age of 18, the parent or guardian will be required to sign a waiver for the underage participant.Description text goes here

Bigfoot Stomp 5K Run/Walk · 10 - 11 am

Bluegrass Concert Lineup

Coldsprings 12-3

Cold Springs consists of five players from rural Alger County. Americana would most accurately describe the group’s style. Drawing from genres such as Bluegrass, Celtic, Country and Folk.

The Gentlemen Grifters 4 - 7 pm

The Gentlemen Grifters are an acoustic menagerie who twist several genres into foot-stomping, heart-felt, original music. The band embraces the more adventurous side of bluegrass, weaving in influences from grunge, ragtime, R&B and Latin music.

The WickSnippers 7:30 - 10:30 pm

The WickSnippers are a Wisconsin based bluegrass group focused on traditional pickin with a flare of new grass. Inspired by acts like Billy Strings, Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Brian Sutton, The Grateful Dead and many other great players. The WickSnippers bring a homestyle bluegrass vibe that focuses on good times and great people, alongside a little dip into the cosmic realm of newgrass and spacegrass.