Coming Up In Iron County

The Mansfield Memories Commit-tee will present the Mansfield Music Fest on Saturday, June 21 at the Mansfield Township Hall, 2804 State Highway M-69 between Sagola and Crystal Falls. The afternoon will begin at noon with open jamming on the grounds; bring an instrument, music and a lawn chair. Also beginning at noon, the indoor stage will open with entertainment being provided by several local groups. At 6 p.m., the Keweenaw Brewgrass Band from Houghton will take the stage. Admission to the festival is $7, with children age 12 and under admitted free. Food and refreshments will be available on the grounds with no carry-ins allowed. All proceeds will go to benefit the Mansfield Pioneer Church. The Keweenaw Brewgrass Band picked up its name after playing Sunday afternoons at the Keweenaw Brewing Com- pany. Someone asked what the band’s name was and for a lack of a name said Keweenaw Brewgrass Band….and it stuck. The KBG plays an eclectic mix of “anything rhythmic” on acoustic instruments. The band tends toward bluegrass for the rhythms and harmonies but quickly move out of traditional bluegrass into Texas swing and acoustic rock classics.

The second Iron County Museum Art On The Beam special program this summer will be held on Thurs-day June 19, beginning at 7 p.m. A special program honoring the Native American heritage in Iron County will feature Bobby Bullet and Pam Nesbit. For more than 10 years, the couple has performed throughout Chicago, Milwaukee and Minnesota, as well as the Upper Peninsula. Bullet plays the guitar and drums as he and Nesbit sing, dance and tell stories of their heritage, as well as their love of nature. Bullet received a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native American Mu-sic Association in 2010, and in 2013 was awarded a music fellowship from the Native Arts and Cultural Foundation to attend a music composition workshop where he composed a number of songs included in his latest album, “Justice in Time.” One of the numbers Nesbit will dance to during the Art on the Beams program was com- posed during the workshop to educate people on wolves. Other numbers will include Nesbit’s art of singing, playing the Native American flute and interpretive dancing. All will illustrate Native American movement through the years. The Museum’s Native American beam mural was originally painted by West Iron County students under the direction of Louisa Miller. Through the years, the lettering of the story of the Native American migration faded, so in April 2014, local artist Amy Brzoznowski repainted the lettering. This repainting and the special program are sponsored by Michigan Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Iron County Historical Society. Attendees are asked to of-fer a $3 donation to cover the cost of refreshments.

Local farmers will once again have weekly farmers markets beginning on Wednesday, June 18. The markets will be held on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or earlier if the market is sold out. The location is behind the West Iron District Library on the patio and behind the Iron River City Hall in the alley. Several local sellers will offer their goods. Nancy Lewis from the Crystal Falls area, will bring her homemade breads and maple syrup, and will begin the season with spinach, kale, radishes and lettuce. Throughout the season she will have other vegetables and fruits. Ginny LaFountain, of Iron River, will have homemade craft items, including garden gazing globes and pot holder/hot pads and will start the season with rhubarb, lettuce, spinach, radishes, strawberry plants. Throughout the season she will have other vegetables and fruits. Blue Bear Gardens will also have salad greens, arugula, spinach. Throughout the season they will have other vegetables and fruits. Carl Brousseau, from the Crystal Falls area, will also join in as the growing season progresses with tomatoes, car-rots, beets, onions, corn, cu-cumbers, squash, pumpkins, apples and more. New vendors are slated to attend this year. Project Fresh Senior coupons will be accepted, also the WIC Project Fresh coupons as usual. New this year, Bridge cards, debit and charge cards will be accepted. When using these methods of payment, the customer must go to the main tent to give card information in exchange for vouchers to take to each vendor. Also new this year was a donation of $2,500 to enhance the farmers market by helping fund a countywide mailing, advertising and new tent, table covering and banners. Other farmers/vendors may join to sell their wares. All vegetables and fruits are to be locally grown produce from Iron County. For more information call LaFountain at 906-367-4251. Customers are asked to respect the vendors setup time and allow all vendors to be set up before purchases are made.

St. Agnes/St. Cecilia will again offer Vacation Catholic School, organized by the Dominican Sisters of Mary. The school will be held June 23-27 at the St. Agnes School. Sessions will last from 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for grades K through 12. Breakfast and a light snack will be provided. There is no charge for the school. For more information, contact the parish of
office at 265-4557

Wildlife Unlimited of Iron County will sponsor the third annual Family Fishing Contest on June 28 at Runkle Lake Park in Crys-tal Falls. The event will take place at the Runkle Lake City Park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Top prizes will be awarded to the longest pan and game fish for kids 1-17 years of age. A “Big Fish Story Contest” will also take place. A parent or guardian should accompany all children. Free lunch and bait will be provided. Please bring fishing rods and life jackets. Some will have the opportunity to fish from several provided boats. Runkle Lake Park has some good shore fishing opportunities, as well. All State fishing rules apply. Parents are encouraged to bring their family and their own boat if they can. For further information or questions, contact Floyd Dropps, Wildlife Unlimited project chairman, at 875-3081.

Performances by Badwaters Ski-Ters will be held, rain or shine, every Wednesday and Sunday during the summer at Vagabond Park on the Menominee River, five miles west of Iron Mountain off U.S. 2. The shows feature highflying water-ski jumping, fast-action barefooting, artistic swivel skiing and sky scraper pyramids. Wednesday shows began on June 11 and will run through Aug. 6. The Sunday shows run from June 15 through Aug. 31. The performances are held at 6 p.m. on both Wednesday and Sunday. There is no ad-mission charge and concessions will be sold on site. For more information check out www.exploring-thenorth.com/ski/ski.html.

Events.