The 50th annual Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival featured national and international performers over the Labor Day holiday weekend at Wheeler Park in Geneva.
The two-day event gave attendees a choice of main stage concerts, storytelling, mini-concerts and jam sessions on stages nestled on the north end of the park.
The festival is celebrating 50 years in part because of “a folk music-compassionate community,” said Cheryl Joyal, festival director.
Joyal worked with the late Juel Ulven, founder of the Fox Valley Folklore Society that initiated the first festival in 1975 in Aurora. The festival has sustained a foundation of volunteers over the years, Joyal said.
“As a Society, we feel how Juel loved folk music, the history of folk music and bringing people together. He brought all of us volunteers and performers together,” Joyal said.
“The fact that we have sustained the festival for 50 years is amazing. Juel’s dream was to see the festival go to 50 years. I get a little choked-up knowing that we were able to realize Juel’s dream for him,” Joyal said.
Organizers are hoping that a younger generation will eventually step in to keep the festival going another 50 years, Joyal said.
The interest from folk music performers has played a significant part in the festival’s longevity as well, Joyal said.
“Many of the artists had their early start at the festival and want to return. It’s been the commitment of everyone – the performers, volunteers and audiences. Our attendees have helped to sustain the festival,” Joyal said.
Folk music artist Claudia Schmidt made her first appearance in 2004 in Geneva. She has a way to blend song, story, drama and celebration in her performances with a 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer.
“I am seeing friends that I haven’t seen in quite a while. It’s something Juel would have wanted,” Schmidt said of the fest.
Schmidt, who has been performing for 53 years, said she appreciates being among friends in a quaint setting during the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival.
“The festival has a small footprint and is welcoming. People are encouraged to donate but it’s totally about community,” she said.
Schmidt said every artist is a headliner at this event.
“It’s a very democratic, humane and civil event. I have so much respect for the organizers doing it so many years,” she said. “It’s not about making money or getting bigger. The festival is about people who love folk music and playing music at all levels.”
Another component of the festival’s success in drawing artists and crowds has been the organization’s partnership with the city of Geneva and Geneva Park District, Joyal said.
Among the international performers this year was singer and songwriter Zoe Mulford, who was born in the U.S. and now lives in England. She first appeared at the festival in 2013, Joyal said.
Bill Robinson was among the Fox Valley’s very own musicians at the fest. He is known for performing on the hammered dulcimer. He is a third-generation dulcimer player and has recorded more than 20 albums. He first performed at the festival in 1989.
Robinson inspired the Heritage Stage intended to showcase artists who have performed at the festival since its early days.
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Batavia friends Jane Perkolup and Martha Sobie came to the festival over the weekend to listen to a full-day of live performances.
“I have had a passion for folk music since my high school days in the 1960s,” Perkolup said.
Perkolup said she rarely misses the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival.
“Folk music is music of the people,” she said.
Evelyn Andel, 23, of Chicago, and Emma Siegfried, 23, of South Elgin, happened to see the festival was going to be held over the Labor Day holiday weekend in Geneva.
“I enjoy folk music and storytelling,” Siegfried said.
“The music is down-to-earth, especially when it is performed live,” Andel said.
Marcia Nameche, of Aurora, is a regular ar the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival.
“Last year I won a really nice guitar in a raffle. My effort to volunteer this year is my way to give back to the festival,” she said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.