The woods and hills of Central Minnesota will be filled with the sounds of fiddles, banjos and mandolins. With summer approaching it is time for the 12th annual Minnesota Homegrown Kickoff. The three-day outdoor music and camping festival features seventeen regional bands performing bluegrass, old-time string band, and related genres of acoustical music. The festival runs from Friday, June 4 through Sunday, June 6 at El Rancho Manana Campground near Cold Spring. It is sponsored by the non-profit Minnesota Bluegrass & Old Time Music Association. Some of the groups scheduled to appear include Monroe Crossing, the Middle Spunk Creek Boys, Switched at Birth, Free Range Pickin’, the Boot Draggers, Mary Henderson and Geoff Shannon, County 20, Gibson Martin & I, The Platte Valley Boys, and more. Main stage show times are 5-11 p.m. Friday, June 4; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, June 5; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, June 6. In addition to the main stage concerts there will be clogging, workshops, jam sessions, a square dance on Friday, and a Cajun dance Saturday evening. The festival is a family friendly event. Single day tickets range from $10 at the gate on Friday to $17 at the gate on Saturday. Weekend tickets including camping are $32 at the gate. Reduced-price tickets are available in advance. Children 12 and under are admitted for free. For more information about the Kickoff call toll-free at (800) 635-3037, or visit www.minnesotabluegrass.org.
