Thanks to an alert blog reader, I learned recently that the Iowa Monument at Vicksburg National Military Park is being rededicated this weekend. If I didn’t already have plans – and if I hadn’t taken a trip to Vicksburg a mere two and half years ago – I might have considered attending.

My great-grandfather, G. Oliver Riggs, attended the original dedication of the monument on Nov. 15, 1906. He played cornet in the 51st Iowa Regimental Band, led by Maj. George Landers, and the band was part of a state delegation of veterans, officials and family members that dedicated monuments to Iowa soldiers at Vicksburg, Shiloh, Andersonville and Chattanooga.

I was only half-listening to the radio in the other room earlier this evening when my ears perked up at the name “Harry Anderson” and the words “community sing.”

Minnesota Public Radio’s Dan Olson was reporting a story about community sings in Minneapolis, a tradition that was popular between the 1920s and the 1950s and has been revived by a group called Minnesota Community Sings. The Minneapolis-based group has scheduled a community sing for tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in Powderhorn Park.

The countdown to Vintage Band Festival 2013 is at 77 days – it’s less than three months away! If you enjoy listening to world-class music, attending family-friendly summer festivals, and exploring cool small towns, make plans now to travel to Northfield, Minn., this summer – the town of Colleges, Cows and Cornets!

Thirty bands are scheduled to present 100 concerts during the four days of the international festival, showcasing a variety of genres, heritage influences and period-style performance

One of the enjoyable aspects of writing a blog is that it allows me to virtually meet people I likely would never otherwise encounter, and exchange information with them about a mutual topic of interest. I have made the acquaintance of several people that way in the last couple of months, including Ross Swanson, whose father, Arthur, played trombone in the St. Cloud Municipal Boys’ Band under the direction of my great-grandfather, G. Oliver Riggs.
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