By Staff
In celebration of Dowagiac's 20th annual summertime bash, this week's Fun Fest promises to serve up its most diverse assortment of vocal and instrumental music, ranging from hip Caribbean to reggae and smooth jazz, the Big Band sound of the 1940s to soft rock and country/western, along with African drum and dance, Scottish bag pipe and - just for fun - a twist of hillbilly-style punk rock.
Sponsored by the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce, Dowagiac Fun Fest, "Celebrate the Music," also features sidewalk sales, interactive educational workshops for children, sporting events, a festival food court and the amusement rides and midway of Family Fun Tyme.
Corporate sponsors of the 2005 festival are: Drs. Charles Burling and Jonathan Gillesby, Creative Vinyl Signs, Felpausch Food Center, Franklin &Son, Leader Publications, Mennel Milling Co. of Michigan, Michigan Gateway Community Foundation, Southwestern Michigan College, the St. Denys Foundation and Wolverine Mutual Insurance Co.
Phillipson said the festival features hip and contemporary music during the day, such as reggae, country and western, and soft rock, as evening entertainment was selected to appeal to the more mature, loyal audience that enjoys the Beckwith Park Summer Concert Series, which Phillipson also coordinates.
The Reggae Boyz, which is a spin-off on the Gypsi Fari Band that Fun Fest hosted in 2002, is said to be one of the hottest reggae bands to emerge from the Chicago music scene.
The international recording artists and Chicago's reggae pioneers, opens what Phillipson terms main stage entertainment at the Haggin-Wimberley Memorial Bandstand on Thursday from noon to 5 p.m.
The three-day festival features more than 45 hours of vocal, instrumental and specialty entertainment, with performances occurring at two downtown locations, including the Beckwith Park and beneath the new Children's Entertainment Tent at Beeson and Depot Drive.
Reggae, calypso and other exotic rhythms will be presented during the two performance workshops by Roots Rock Society on Thursday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., beneath the Children's Entertainment Tent.
The performance workshop, geared for families with children, discusses the foundation of roots rhythms from the African Diaspora, including Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American.
Thursday evening entertainment opens with a hometown favorite, Miss Kathy's School of Dance and Positively Dance, at 5:30 p.m. on Commercial Street, followed by the 25-voice chorus of the Battle Creek Pops Ensemble, from 7 to 8 p.m., and The Old Moonlighters from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Phillipson said Fun Fest for the past several years has hosted the back-to-back evening performances of these two groups, which typically draws a standing-room-only audience to the Beckwith Park.
Daytime music on Friday opens at noon with the soft rock and contemporary music of The Blisters, formerly known as Renior, which has played Fun Fest for the past several years.
Performance workshops Friday afternoon beneath the Children's Entertainment Tent feature the Deep Fried Pickle Project, as seen on the PBS Kids network.
Making its first appearance in Dowagiac, the Pickles will present a high-energy family-styled performance of hillbilly-style punk rock, which is better known as good ole' fashioned jug-a-billy music from America's back hills. Two one-hour performance workshops will be held at 1 and 3 p.m.
Phillipson said she is pleased on Friday evening to present a high-energy entertainment line-up, opening at 5 p.m., which features five hours of back-to-back performances by four artists, as entertainment is brought to two downtown locations, including the Beckwith Park and City Hall Park.
Opening main stage entertainment Friday evening at the Haggin-Wimberley Memorial Bandstand will be another newcomer to the festival, Afrojabe Afrikan Village Drum &Dance Group of Flint, which has appeared at Black Arts and Afrikan-American festivals across the Midwest. Phillipson said the excitement and the dynamic energy of African drum and dance, and its unique movements that unfold to tell a story, promises to be a special treat for festival goers of all ages.
Following the drum and dance group is another long-time festival favorite, the Kalamazoo Bag Pipe Band, whose performance opens at 7 p.m. Members of the Kalamazoo Bag Pipe Band have performed on the floor of the Michigan State Senate and also the Michigan House of Representatives, and have competed against bands from throughout the United States and Canada at the Detroit St. Andrew Games.
Also appearing Friday at 7 p.m. will be members of Seeds, a highly-recognized Christian vocal and instrumental band from the Midwest, which will perform later this year at the Beresheet Festival in Israel.
Festival goers can enjoy their performance at City Hall Park, located at the corner of Front and Main streets.
Rounding out Friday evening's entertainment will be Sophisticated Swing, which brings the Big Band music of the 1940s to the Beckwith Park, beginning at 8:30 p.m.
Country, western and contemporary music hits the main stage Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m., featuring Due Process, formerly known to Fun Fest as Country Jam from Nappanee, Ind.
Miss Kathy's School of Dance and Positively Dance returns Saturday afternoon for a second performance from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on Beeson Street.
The Saturday afternoon performance by Susan Harrison, beneath the Children's Entertainment Tent, is geared for families as this children's entertainer presents sing-a-longs and stories. Two one-hour performance sets will be presented at 1 and 3 p.m.
Saturday evening entertainment opens at 5 p.m. with another hometown favorite, Encore Dance Company, whose performance will be situated on Beeson Street.
Rounding out Saturday evening's entertainment and the three-day festival will be one of the favorite artists of the Beckwith Park Summer Concert Series - the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band. Phillipson said the approximate 25 to 30-member band, which has appeared in the downtown for the past four years, typically draws a standing-room-only audience to the Beckwith Park.
The jazz band's performance opens at 6 p.m.