NILES — The 16th annual Niles Family Fun Fair and Bluegrass/Americana Music Festival took place Thursday through Sunday, drawing hundreds to Niles Riverfront Park to listen to a variety of bands, ride carnival rides and enjoy various food and shopping vendors.

The festival is sponsored by the Riverfront Optimist Club of Niles. While the music portion of the festival was free, people could buy $20 wristbands for unlimited carnival rides. A portion of these proceeds was collected for Michiana Youth Robotics to help fund travel expenses. 

While the festival may have started as a traditional bluegrass festival more than 16 years ago, Tom Majerek, a festival organizer, said it has since evolved to appeal to a larger audience.

“It slowly is changing to an Americana festival, not strictly bluegrass,” Majerek said. “We have some traditional bluegrass. When we started it was all bluegrass, but now we are mixing it up.”

Those who know Majerek know his passion for music, particularly rock. However, Majerek said it was the influence of rock and roll that first got him connected to bluegrass.

“That is how I got turned into bluegrass was I listened to Grateful Dead’s guitarist Jerry Garcia who also played banjo in a bluegrass band called ‘Old and in the Way,’ Majerek said. “I thought this stuff is like the Dead only acoustic.”

With the festival drawing bands across genres to perform in Riverfront Park, Majerek said he hopes it expands people’s musical horizons and also encourages them to support local artists.

While the Brandywine Creek String Band, a group of elementary students, have traditionally played at the festival, for the first time this year other elementary school students were also encouraged to participate.

At 5 p.m. Thursday, the students were invited on the amphitheater stage to sing songs. 

Also returning to the stage this year for the musical lineup was guitarist and vocalist David Rees, 26. Rees played solo at the festival for the first time last year. He liked participating so much that he returned to the stage to play covers and some original music.

“I really enjoyed that this town can bring this kind of energy here,” Rees said. “I think there is a lot of room to bring creativity and originality to art to Niles, so I’m pleased to be part of something that is doing that.”

This eclectic mix of bands and talent of all ages is all part of what makes the festival special, Majerek said.

Thursday night was a good example of this. Among those performing was the Southwestern Michigan College Brass Band. Jonathan Korzun, the director of bands, said the band played some Americana style numbers such as “Luck be a Lady Tonight” and some Queen “We Will Rock You.”

While this is the first time that the band has played at the bluegrass festival, he said the band has performed at Riverfront Park in the past.

“We love playing in this venue,” Korzun said. “This is the perfect place to do this kind of thing.”

The bluegrass festival will also be helping to kick off the Summer Concert Series in the park. Next to take the stage from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 7, is Tim Dudley an Elvis impersonator. The concerts are free and open to the public to attend.