Author Archives: Dan Bergeson

Vintage Band Festival awarded a 2023 SEMAC Legacy Grant

The Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) has awarded Vintage Band Festival a 2023 Legacy Grant for Organizations. The $10,000 grant will be used to partially fund the upcoming Vintage Band Festival 2024 next summer.

One member of the review committee had this to say about our application:

“The people involved in this project are very qualified and have varied skills…great that you are helping to keep Big Band music alive and bringing high quality music to your community….by varying the styles of music it is a educational experience for your audiences and keeps it enjoyable…the location keeps the event very inclusive of all…by mixing amateur and professional bands everyone learns from each other and that makes it a win win for everyone!”

Another reviewer commented:

 “A very unique event that evolves and keeps your community involved because of the quality bands and the live music experience….great that you are including Latino bands also…this project seems to have lots of community support from donors to volunteers to attendees…  Community involvement is great for this project, and there appears to be planning to improve upon past experiences.”

We’re grateful to our fantastic grant writer, Joy Riggs, for another successful outcome. We’re also grateful to the Minnesota legislature for passing the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment in 2008. That legislation provides the funding for SEMAC and other regional arts councils in Minnesota to administer.

The Vintage Band Festival Fund

As a result of two recent extraordinary donations, the Vintage Band Festival board of directors has launched The Vintage Band Festival Fund. This fund will part of the Northfield Area Fund, a community fund that is under the auspices of a local non-profit organization called Northfield Shares.

Our intent is for the Vintage Band Festival Fund ( VBF Fund) to be a place where donors may wish to give a legacy gift to help insure that Vintage Band Festival will be able to present live brass and wind band music many years into the future. Our organization will continue to fundraise annually to support the next scheduled festival, but we also need to fundraise with a longer timeline in mind.

Legacy gifts can be made using retirement plan assets. They can also be part of a trust or a named beneficiary when planning for one’s estate. They can simply be one-time gifts to honor someone’s memory.

We are humbled and extremely grateful to board member Jan Stevens for her generous gift that has ennabled the VBF Fund to be created. We also wish to acknowledge the Wenger Foundation for their timely gift that has effectively doubled  the size of the VBF Fund at its launch.

Donations to the Vintage Band Festival Fund can be made online by clicking on this link:

Our Community Funds

VBF on the radio: Tuba Christmas & the VBF Fund

As a result of two recent extraordinary donations, the Vintage Band Festival board of directors has launched the Vintage Band Festival Fund. This fund will part of the Northfield Area Fund, a community fund that is under the auspices of a local non-profit organization called Northfield Shares.

Our intent is for the Vintage Band Festival Fund ( VBF Fund) to be a place where donors may wish to give a legacy gift to help insure that Vintage Band Festival will be able to present live brass and wind band music many years into the future. Our organization will continue to fundraise annually to support the next scheduled festival, but we also need to fundraise with a longer timeline in mind.

We are humbled and extremely grateful to board member Jan Stevens for her generous gift of $25,000 that has enabled the VBF Fund to be created. We also wish to acknowledge the Wenger Foundation for their timely gift of $20,000 that will nearly double the size of the VBF Fund. Anyone wishing to donate to the VBF Fund can send a check payable to Northfield Shares (with “Vintage Band Festival Fund” on the memo line) and send it to Northfield Shares, 205 Water Street South, Northfield, MN 55057. There will be an online option soon for anyone wishing to use a credit card.

Jan and two other VBF board members were recently featured on the Art Zany: Radio for the Imagination show on the local station 95.1 The One KYMN Radio talking about the VBF Fund and the upcoming 2023 edition of Tuba Christmas in Northfield on Saturday, December 2. The VBF segment starts at about 35:30:00 in the recording.

ArtZany! Fine Arts Boosters Fundraiser and Vintage Band Festival, 11-17-23

Sheldon Theatre Brass Band Holiday Concert

We’re excited to share the news that the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band will be bringing its annual holiday concert to Northfield this year! This special performance is free and open to the public. It will take place on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 2:00pm, at First UCC (First United Church of Christ, 300 Union St, Northfield, MN). More info below.

The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band has performed at all of the Vintage Band Festival shows in Northfield over the years, so you may be familiar with them. They are a full-size British-style band with 30 players. For the holiday concert, they will play a spirited mix of music to delight all ages. Frosty the Snowman (on tuba), Let It Snow! (with a jazz vocalist), and thrilling full-band compositions are all on the list. Bring yourself, your friends, and family for this free show on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

NOTE: They will also be performing in Red Wing in their home venue, The Sheldon Theatre. That show is on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 3pm. Tickets are required and cost $14 – $25, available for purchase at this website or by contacting the box office at 651-388-8700 or buytickets@SheldonTheatre.

Future Vintage Band Festival dates

In last week’s e-news there was a typo on the date for VBF 2024. The correct day/date is Saturday, July 27, 2024. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

While we have your attention, we thought it might be useful look ahead to 2025 and 2026 as well. Beginning in 2010, we have presented a multi-day festival every three years. That would argue for us to have the next multi-day festival in 2025.  However, since 2026 will be the 20th anniversary of Vintage Band Festival, the board decided earlier this fall to wait until 2026 to stage the next multi-day festival. 2026 is also the United States Semiquincentennial (we had to look that one up!); 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We thought that might make for some extra-special programming.

That means we’ll have three one-day events in a row (2023, 2024 and 2025). As mentioned earlier, the date for 2024 will be July 27. The date for 2025 will be Saturday, August 2. In 2026 Vintage Band Festival will take place July 30 – August 2.

Give to the Max Day celebrates 15 years in 2023!

Thursday, November 16 is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota. This one-day giving extravaganza makes it extra easy to give to non-profit organizations efficiently and quickly. The beauty of this platform is that if a donor wants to support more than one organization, it can be done without leaving the site. In addition, it offers donors the opportunity to win Golden Tickets throughout the day which will ultimately provide even more funding for their favorite causes.

There is a $100,000 prize grant pool that has been provided by the Bush Foundation. The grants will be awarded to the winners of the Golden Ticket Drawings which occur every 15 minutes and once an hour throughout the day on November 16. There is one Super-Sized Golden Ticket drawn at the end of the day for $10,000. Golden Ticket winners can give their grant to any one of the organizations that they support. There is no limit to the number of Golden Tickets that any organization can win.

The 15-minute Golden Ticket prizes are $500 and the hourly Golden Ticket prizes are $1,000. In addition, donations that are made during Early Giving (November 1-15) will be eligible for the once-daily Golden Ticket of $500. All donations from November 1-15 are eligible for all Golden Ticket drawings on November 16.

Give to the Max Day was started in 2009 and this year is celebrating 15 years of collective giving in Minnesota. Vintage Band Festival has participated in all 15 Give to the Max Days! We have been fortunate to have won a Golden Ticket as well.

There are many strategies about how and when to submit donations to maximize the chances of winning a Golden Ticket. The one that makes the most sense to us is to decide the amount of  your donation and then divide it into smaller amounts so that you can have more than one entry in the Golden Ticket competition. For example, if a person wanted to give $100 total to Vintage Band Festival, making 5 donations of $20 at various times or 10 donations of $10 spread out  through the day would generate additional entries for the drawings.

However, don’t overthink it! The important thing is to participate in any way that is right for you. Whatever you choose to do, if you give to Vintage Band Festival, it will be greatly appreciated!

By the way, the next Vintage Band Festival is July 27, 2024. And don’t forget Tuba Christmas in Northfield on Saturday, December 2, 2023.

Tuba Christmas 2023 in Northfield

Vintage Band Festival is presenting Tuba Christmas 2023 in Northfield, Minnesota on Saturday, December 2 at 3:00 pm. The event will take place in Skinner Memorial Chapel, 405 1st St. E. on the campus of Carleton College. Retired St. Olaf College professor Dr. Paul Niemisto will be the conductor of Tuba Christmas 2023.

Tuba Christmas is an annual event that brings together euphonium, baritone, sousaphone and tuba players of all ages to play Christmas carols for the enjoyment of family, friends and the general public. The music made by dozens of low brass instruments playing as a choir is an experience not to be missed, either as a participant or as a listener.

2023 is the 50th anniversary of Tuba Christmas concert events which are presented throughout the world. Tuba Christmas was conceived in 1974 by tubist Harvey Phillips of Indiana University as a tribute to his teacher and mentor William J. Bell, born on Christmas Day, 1902. The first Tuba Christmas was conducted by Paul Lavalle at New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink on Sunday, December 22, 1974.

There are now over 300 Tuba Christmas events produced annually throughout the United States and internationally. Registration for participants in Northfield’s Tuba Christmas will open at 12:00 pm on December 2. Registration fee is $10. There will be a rehearsal at 1:00 pm and the performance will be at 3:00 pm. Music played at Tuba Christmas will be from “Carols for a Merry Tuba Christmas” which will be available for purchase at registration. Musicians are invited to decorate their instruments if they so choose. Details for the event can be found at www.vintagebandfestival.org . This event is family-friendly, free and open to the public.

Tuba Christmas 2023 in Northfield is made possible with generous assistance from Carleton College.

And that’s a wrap for Vintage Band Festival 2023!

After a blistering July in the midwest, last Saturday turned out to be a spectacularly comfortable day in Northfield, Minnesota for the 2023 edition of Vintage Band Festival. The heat has returned to the 90s this week so we feel incredibly lucky for the weekend reprieve.

The music was fantastic, the audience was fabulous, and the setting was beautiful. If you were there you know what I mean! Thanks to the musicians for their skill and passion, thanks to the audience for being engaged, and thanks to our donors for their tremendous financial support. Thanks to the City of Northfield and our other community partners for their assistance, and thanks to Riverwalk Market Fair and their vendors for another successful collaboration. Thanks also to our food vendors: Little Frida Taco Shop, Maui Wowi, and the Knights of Columbus. We sincerely appreciate all of you!

Please share photos you may have taken on the Vintage Band Festival Facebook page. Here are a few shots of the action on Saturday.

The Red Bull Band
Banda La Verdadera
Jack Brass Band

We were treated to a grand entry by the Minnesota Pipes and Drums, a Scottish heritage band from Minneapolis.

Minnesota Pipes and Drums

Please stay in touch over the next many months until we can do this again in the summer of 2024. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for Tuba Christmas in Northfield on December 2, 2023 or the Tuba Christmas that’s closest to wherever you are.

One last VBF 2023 update

It’s the day before VBF 2023 and all through Bridge Square, not a brass tune was heard, not even a note! That will all change on Saturday and the following bands will be a big help.

Kicking off the day at 9:00 am will be the New Prague Area Community Band. They’ve been our opening act on Saturdays as long as any of us can remember and we’re grateful to them and their fearless leader, Rush Wagner, for breaking the musical ice.

New Prague Area Community Band

Right after New Prague finishes, we’ll welcome the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band coming to us all the way from Red Wing, Minnesota. The band was founded in 1989 as the resident performing ensemble at the then newly-restored, turn-of-the-century T. B. Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing. They have played at every Vintage Band Festival!

Sheldon Theatre Brass Band

At noon on Saturday, say hello to the Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble. Their ranks include 24 of the most talented trumpet players in the state of Minnesota. It’s always a kick to find out what new music they’ve added to their repertoire since the last time they were at Vintage Band Festival. Don’t miss their performance!

Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble

At 4:00 pm as the sun is passing over the Cannon River to the west, the stage will be set for Metro Brass, the mid-size band with a massive sound. Led by virtuoso trumpeter, Keith Thompson, the band is sure to put on a most entertaining show.

Metro Brass

Closing out the day at 8:45 pm will be the Bend in the River Big Band. They will give us the swing music and the classic big band sound that will make sure you get out of your chair and your comfort zone and dance the night away. Vocalist Linnea Marrin will provide the lyrics to all of the tunes that you have been humming to yourself for the past oh so many years.

All in all it’s going to be a wonderful day. Join us, won’t you? Saturday, July 29, 2023 in beautiful Downtown Northfield MN. Get all the details at vintagebandfestival.org.

Many thanks to our VBF 2023 Sponsors!

We’re grateful to the following organizations and individuals for their much appreciated financial support of Vintage Band Festival 2023. Thank you!

Festival Sponsors

Wenger Foundation

Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC)

Stage Sponsors

Carleton College (in-kind)

City of Northfield (in-kind)

Northfield Rotary Club

Erik & Katie Bergeson

Mary Rosenberg

James Strom

Band Sponsors

Community Resource Bank

Merchants Bank

Carl & Joan Behr

Louise Lucas & Mike Elbein

Chris & Joan Ennis

Robert & Rejean Schulte

Barbara Zaveruha & Glen Castore