Get Your Program Here!

The Vintage Band Festival 2013 program is now online! After all the work I put into it as program editor, I am excited to see it in its finished form. You can read it by clicking on this link: The Official Program Vintage Band Festival 2013

Thanks to everyone involved in putting this monster together, especially to Rob Schanilec and his crew at By All Means Graphics, 17 Bridge Square, which is serving as VBF headquarters during the festival. Printed copies will also be distributed around Northfield and in other participating communities.

Inside the 40-page program you will find bios on all the 30+ international, national and Minnesota bands that will be performing, a concert schedule (most are in Northfield but a handful are in other communities, such as New Prague and New Ulm), and information about other activities going on during the festival – like the Northfield Arts Guild’s production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man (directed by my friend Rachel Haider and choreographed by my friend Mary Hahn).

You can buy Music Man tickets online at the Northfield Arts Guild website (click here). In addition to the shows on Aug. 2, 3 and 4 during the VBF, performances are scheduled July 26-28 and Aug. 9-11. My husband, Steve, will be on stage as Oliver Hix, a member of the barbershop quartet. His sister Beth is also in the show, and my two older kids, Louisa and Sebastian, are doing the lights.

Inside the VBF program you’ll also find an ad for my blog (page 16), an essay I wrote reflecting on the 2010 festival (page 27), and a mention of the talk I’m giving about G. Oliver Riggs to members of the Historic Brass Society (page 28).

We tried our best to make sure the program was error-free, but the early deadline and the moving pieces of planning an event of this scale means that some things may change between now and the festival. We will keep our Vintage Band Festival website as up-to-date as possible, so be sure check it for updates, and also like us on Facebook (Facebook.com/vintagebandfestival) and/or follow us on Twitter (@vintagebandfest) so you will receive updates there as well.

I encourage you to look through the program, figure out what bands and events most appeal to you, and block out your calendar now so you don’t miss out on the fun. The event runs Aug. 1-4, but you’ll notice in the calendar that there are a few pre-festival events on July 31, plus a post-festival event on Aug. 5. Please also consider becoming a festival donor! If you donate $25 or more you get a nifty VBF2013 pin, a tax deduction, and our thanks!