This Saturday, Bishop Hill is having its annual Midsommar Music Festival. Bring your own lawn chair, starting at 10 a. m, free performances at the park gazebo by Black Hawk Pipes and Drums, Sarah and the Underground, Orion Community band, and more.
After the performances, everyone can participate in decorating and dancing around the Maypoles. Visitors can use flowers to decorate the Maypoles at the Colony School. There’s no experience needed to join.
Midsommar has been a Swedish tradition for over 500, celebrated in Bishop Hill since 1977. The ancient celebration is used to welcome summer and the season of fertility. People would use greenery to decorate their houses and farm tools, as well as raise the Maypoles to be danced around.
Todd DeDecker, Administrator for the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, says the Midsommar Festival is a great time. "People can have the opportunity to not just enjoy themselves but also learn about other cultures and to also learn about their local history."
At the Vasa National Archives, people are invited to view the exhibit and make a clay sculpture to take home, as well as take some refreshments.
At the Prairie Arts Center, Author Jannifer Stevens Powelson will be signing her books and celebrating her new release, Summer Solstice. This is the ninth book in her Nature Station Mystery Series.