Keweenaw Heritage Center to present ethnic music variety show Aug. 31

CALUMET -- A variety show with an ethnic theme will be presented at 7 p. m. on Monday, Aug. 31, at the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne’s in Calumet. The show will offer musical favorites of many of the ethnic groups that settled in Calumet and the surrounding area during the mining boom, including Croatian, Finnish, French-Canadian, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Slovenian, Swedish and more, performed by local singers and musicians ranging in age from seven to seventy-plus. This is the last performance of the summer "Musical Mondays" series.

Several members of the Maple Sugar Folk, pictured here at a previous Calumet Heritage celebration, will perform in the last of the "Musical Mondays" series, an ethnic music variety show, at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, at the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne's in Calumet. Pictured here, from left, are Barry Pegg, Marcia Goodrich, Janet Wieber, Amanda Binoniemi (behind Wieber), Barbara Lide (seated), Dave Bezotte (at keyboard), Karin Schlenker and Deb McDowell. (File photo by Keweenaw Now)

Admission is free. A free-will offering will be taken for the center’s universal accessibility project, and refreshments will be available for purchase following the performance. Come and celebrate the rich blend of cultures that contribute to our own unique culture of the Keweenaw.

Tentatively, the program will include the following ethnic music and performers:

Scottish -- Bagpipers
American -- Calumet Players members: Selections from Music Man
French-Canadian -- Kora Johnson and Christian Pereira, fiddles accompanied by their fathers, Adam and Wellesley: "Les Fraises et les Framboises"; also the Crist Family, fiddles and guitar: "St. Anne’s Reel"
Irish -- Crist Family, fiddles and guitar: "Fisher’s Hornpipe"
Finnish -- Kantele Group with Kay Seppala
German -- Tim Jaska, vocal -- "Du, du, legist mir im Herzen"
Slovenian -- Kiko, Slovenian-style button accordion
Swedish -- Barbara Lide, vocal -- "Calle Schewens vals"
Italian -- Deb MacDowell, mandolin, and Oren Tikkanen, guitar: "Baciame Forte Mazurka" and "Margaret’s Polka"
Finnish -- Oren Tikkanen, vocal; Deb MacDowell, mandolin; Libby Meyer, fiddle

Some members of the Thimbleberry Band who performed at the July 6 ethnic music event at the Keweenaw Heritage Center will perform again Monday, Aug. 31. Pictured here are, from left, Oren Tikkanen, Libby Meyer and Matt Durocher of Thimbleberry, playing with Dave Bezotte on keyboard during the July 6 concert. (File photo by Keweenaw Now)

Norwegian -- Mike Adler, violin, and Luke Dedo, guitar: "Brudmarsj fra Telemark" and "Pete Peterson’s Schottische"
Hungarian -- Mike Adler, violin, and Deb Zei, piano: "Czardas" (Monti)
Cornish -- Barry Pegg, vocal: "Fish, Tin and Copper"
Israeli -- David Owens, piano or accordion and vocal: "Dana, dana, dana"

David Owens of Eagle Harbor will perform both Croatian and Israeli tunes and sing them in the original languages during Monday's ethnic music variety show at the Keweenaw Heritage Center in Calumet. (File photo by Keweenaw Now)

Croatian -- David Owens, accordion and vocal: "Hopa, hopa."

Dave Bezotte, organizer of this event, says more great performers may be added to the final program. Don't miss it!