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FlivverFest offers live music, other activities in Kingsford

By MARGUERITE LANTHIER 4 min read

KINGSFORD -- FlivverFest returns this weekend with lower prices for two days of live entertainment and other activities.

The annual event takes place from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the city's Lodal Park.

Organizers this year decided to decrease admission to $10 per person and $25 per family, for both days.

"We got back to the cheap price to make it more of a community event. Let's get back to 'Having more people having fun,'" Mark Novara said.

Organized by Novara and Rick Holland with help from the Friends of the Flivvers, volunteers and local businesses, the event is a fundraiser for Kingsford athletics. A large number of athletes show up each year to help with set up.

"It's a good way for us to do community service," Novara said. "It's helpful for us, having the kids here to help us out. If you can get them here for an hour -- that's a lot of hands. You can get a lot of work done. We appreciate them helping out and the money all goes back into the athletic department for our kids."

Novara also appreciates all the support they get from area businesses such as M.J. Electric for providing additional electrical service; Todd Dooley of Spread Eagle Fireworks for the tents and the fireworks show, which will takes place at 9:30 p.m. Saturday; Upper Audio for the sound, and all the musicians who perform.

He thanked Brad Linton of Mane Event Karaoke for his help with the first Flivver Idol. Linton hosted karaoke contests during his karaoke nights at area establishments. The number was narrowed down to five finalists during a competition July 11 at Venue 906. The finalists are Rodney Anderson, Becky Davis, Kristin Glaser, Carrie Rankin and Lani Sydmark. They will perform in the finals from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday.

"He's done so much with satellite tournaments. This was the first year, I think it will be better next year. He's so passionate about music," Novara said.

A special "thank you" also went to the VFW this year for help with the license to make the event happen, Novara added.

New this year will be a Dunk the Cops and Coaches fundraiser on Saturday. The cost is $1 for one throw or six for $5. The schedule includes: Officer Matt Brouillette, 2 p.m.; Corrections Office Sgt. Casey Wyle, 3 p.m.; Deputy Alexander Erickson, 4 p.m.; Officer Jon Cvengros, 5 p.m.; freshman football coach Kyle Pirlot, 6 p.m.; wrestling coach Darrell Hood, 7 p.m.; and varsity hockey coach Erik Berglund, 8 p.m.

Axe throwing will be available at FlivverFest. A cornhole tournament is set for 6 p.m. Friday and 3 and 6 p.m. Saturday.

A "kid zone" with a number of bounce houses will be on the grounds to enjoy at no extra cost.

The event again will feature a silent auction until 9 p.m. each day, with different items each day.

Also new to FlivverFest this year, in addition to concessions they sell, five different food trucks will be on site. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be available, with no carry-ins allowed.

Music is a main draw for the event. On Friday, Asher will play from 4 to 5 p.m., followed by county band Darn Sad Crawdad of Little Chute, Wis., from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and local variety band Next Myle starting at 9 p.m.

On Saturday, the local duo Jim Counter and Winston Lawson perform variety and original acoustic music from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by Flivver Idol. Local variety band Norton, Chartier & Co. will play from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with county band Bad Axe Rodeo featuring Andy Gibbons taking the stage from 8:30 to 11 p.m.

The event is popular for class reunions and Novara said he's now seeing businesses host parties for their employees. They have a number of tents set up that can cover about 2,000 people if it rains.

"The community comes together; it's pretty nice. It's just a really cool community event that people look forward to it. That is really helpful to us," Novara said. "It pretty neat to see how it started to how it is now."

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.

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