MENOMINEE, MICH. – The multi-cultural, international music that reached into area classrooms and the community will continue, thanks to a collection of dedicated local supporters.
World Fest Marinette/Menominee was conceived in 2022 to serve as the home base for a regional music program offered through Arts Midwest, a nonprofit organization funded through the National Endowment for the Arts. The three-year program brought six musical groups from across the globe to schools and the communities of Marinette and Menominee counties.
When the contract ended, so did the Arts Midwest program — but local supporters didn’t want to see it disappear.
Kim Brooks, who organized World Fest Marinette/Menominee, said there were a number of reasons why Arts Midwest canceled the program, but even more reasons why people in this area wanted to see it continue.
”It was a very labor-intensive program,” Brooks said, referring to the behind-the-scenes organizing of visas from different countries, flights, schedules and programming.
“They decided moving forward they would rather spend their dollars in a different way.”
The area had been recognized by the Wisconsin Arts Council for its efforts to create arts and music programs and recommended Marinette as one of nine Midwestern communities for the World Fest program. Brooks requested from the beginning that Menominee County also be included, which meant students from the entire area would have the opportunity to see and hear these musicians.
There wasn’t an agency locally available to serve as the coordinator, so Brooks and other volunteers organized the one-week visits of each of the six groups.
That included working with school systems to develop scheduling, busing and locations.
”Some of the superintendents thought this was the neatest thing they had ever seen happen,” she said.
“When it ended, a lot of the people who had been involved or who had been recipients of the programming were just devastated. There was the [community’s] will to keep it going.”
A core supporter has been Stephenson National Bank & Trust (SNBT), which has pledged funds and volunteers to World Fest.
Laura Chaltry, SNBT marketing director, said, “We were so excited about the culture and the people and the learning experiences — everything for our community — that after it was over, it felt natural to continue.”
SNBT went beyond financial support, working to spread the word about the concerts, serve as ticket sites and work at the concerts and events.
“We saw that every concert — there were more and more people talking about it,” Chaltry said.
While each artist’s visits concentrated on local school events, they culminated in a free community concert. That schedule will continue with the first artist in the new World Fest programming, Wade Fernandez, who is scheduled for Feb. 23 through Feb. 28.
Chaltry said support for the concerts wasn’t a mandate at the bank, but it still was embraced by everyone.
“We had employees who said ‘count me in for every single one - I will volunteer,’” she said.
Chaltry explained that SNBT sees value in “getting out in our communities, supporting nonprofits and other organizations in our area, because we live and work and play in this area and we want it to be a place we are happy to call home.”
The idea of bringing world-class music to his hometown was also a perfect fit for John Hofer.
Hofer, and his late wife, Mary, shared their love of music. He contributes to World Fest, not only through the John and Mary Hofer Fund, but through his time and talents as an organizer.
“World Fest is that opportunity to bring something to the community that normally you would have to travel, or never be exposed to it,” Hofer said.
Hofer said the uncertainty of stable funding sources for ventures, such as those provided regionally by Arts Midwest, brought challenges.
“We knew going in that the original grant was for three years,” he said.
“So, it has always been in the back of our minds that there would need to be another funding source. Frankly, those three years let it demonstrate the value within the community.”
“No question - we have done it for three years. The school systems know what is going on; being able to work with Bayshore Arts again, it’s all pretty ‘same old, same old’, but I’m looking forward to seeing what else we can do,” said Hofer.
The Bayshore Arts Center, formerly Theatre on the Bay, is part of the Marinette campus of UW-Green Bay.
World Fest now has the added support of UW-Green Bay’s Weidner Center for the Performing Arts.
“[UW-Green Bay] really wants to see this continue because they are so impressed with the uptake,” Brooks said.
The Weidner Center will help secure talent for events, which are now planned to happen once a year. World Fest will be able to draw from international artists who reside in the United States in urban communities, saving travel time and visa access without compromising the exposure to different cultures.
Wade Fernandez is an example of the type of talent enjoyed by those around the world.
Fernandez is a multi-award winning musician and educator from the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin and has performed internationally and nationally in venues including the Kennedy Center.
Brooks said Fernandez is a perfect fit for World Fest.
“People like Wade Fernandez are not just musicians, they are educators,” Hofer added.
More information about the upcoming visit and Feb. 28 concert is available at World Fest Marinette/Menominee on Facebook.
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