Central Minnesota Celebrates Music With Weekend Festival

RICHMOND -- It's a celebration of music this weekend at El Rancho Manana with the annual Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Festival.

The four-day festival will feature over 30 hours of live music performances and plenty of family-friendly activities for the thousands of people who come out.

Bea Flaming has been involved with the festival for over 20 years and says it's a great and enjoyable weekend for anybody who has a passion for music.

"There's something for everyone," Flaming says. "From children to old-timers and everyone in between, there's a lot of variety here."

The activities include hands-on musical workshops involving songwriting, jamming and singing.

Flaming says she has seen many people come just out of curiosity before getting hooked.

"People will come for a day and sometimes trade in their tickets to stay overnight," Flaming says. "Often, [those] people will come back the next year and become regulars."

Flaming started as a volunteer at the festival and now is an administrative assistant. She says meeting the people at the festival is what keeps her coming back year after year.

"I just love the people," Flaming says. "The 'pickers' and the 'grinners' -- the pickers are the players and the grinners are the people who don't play -- we just have a great time, it's a lot of fun."

The Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Festival begins with performances on the main stage beginning at 7:00 p.m. You can order your tickets by calling 800-635-3037.

Main Stage Performance Schedule
- Thursday, August 6th: 7:00 to 11:00 p.m.
- Friday, August 7th: noon to 11:00 p.m.
- Saturday, August 8th: noon to 11:00 p.m.
- Sunday, August 9th: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.