May 22, 2017

For Immediate Release

Vintage Band Festival Announces Grant Award from Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council

Northfield, Minnesota—Vintage Band Festival is pleased to announce that it has received a $3,000 grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) in support of one of the performing bands at this summer’s one-day festival on July 29. The award also covers expenses for sound production at the event. SEMAC has been a strong supporter and advocate for Vintage Band Festival since the festival was launched in 2006 and this recent grant continues that tradition.

Vintage Band Festival was founded in 2006 by Dr. Paul Niemisto, at the time a faculty member of the St. Olaf College Music Department. The inspiration for staging a series of brass and wind band concerts simultaneously at multiple outdoor venues in Northfield, Minnesota came from observing similar events while visiting small towns in Germany and Austria. The local community responded enthusiastically to the idea and Vintage Band Festival is now a thriving and beloved ongoing enterprise in Northfield. Four-day festivals have been held in 2006, 2010, 2013 and 2016. Recently, a variation on the concept was created and now one-day summer events are staged during the intervals between the grand four-day events. The next one-day Vintage Band Festival will be held July 29, 2017.