In Black Eden, there's 'Music To Come Home To' Festival, August 2

Idlewild Homecoming Jazz & Blues Festival Saturday in John Meeks Park

IDLEWILD, MI - The finishing touches are being put on John Meeks Park in preparation for Saturday’s second annual Idlewild Homecoming Jazz & Blues Festival. The event will begin at noon and a stellar lineup of musicians will take the stage throughout the day. Admission is free and everyone is encouraged to bring their lawn chairs, blankets and coolers and spend the day catching up with old friends and making new ones.

“We’ve done some landscaping, put in a new bandstand, added flags and we’ll be installing the ‘John Meeks Park’ sign,” said park founder and namesake John Meeks. “Not only has the community been receptive, they’ve been very helpful. I have an abundance of volunteers for this event.”

In addition to the great number of volunteers, Meeks said attendees are getting excited for the event. He’s already been fielding the calls of people from all over the country who will be in attendance for the homecoming.

“People come from all over,” he said. “I have six people who are looking for a place to stay because they’re coming from Jacksonville, Florida. And one of the dancers from the Paradise Club said she’s coming from Texas. I was just on the phone with someone who’s coming from St. Louis.

“Of the people who came for last year’s homecoming, I’d estimate 80 percent will be back because they want to come back and see their friends and enjoy it with hometown people. People are hungry for something to do in Idlewild.”

Meeks built the park that bears his name because he wanted Idlewild to have a permanent location where people could enjoy music outdoors. Of course, the dedication of the park featured a lineup of musicians and was followed by the first annual homecoming last year. Now in his third year of planning events for the location, Meeks said there are two things people enjoy.

“They like the park because it’s an ideal setting,” he said, “and they like that it’s free admission. It’s a nice lineup of musicians and people get to experience it for free.”

Meeks is currently in the process of setting up a permanent committee to plan future events, but he has one request for them going forward.

“I want it to remain free,” he said. “I don’t want to ever see a charge for attending an event at John Meeks Park. I want everybody to come enjoy the music.”

Meeks said he and others have planned events in the past, but efforts to provide entertainment in the small community have all been piecemeal. For the past 25 years, he’s been advocating for a township committee that plans an entire summer program of events every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but said so far the idea hasn’t caught on.

In the meantime, the community will gather for the Homecoming Jazz & Blues Festival, which will feature performances by gospel singer Kelly Coleman; Rick Hicks, who sings blues in the style of B.B. King; balladeer Fred Mosley; dynamic blues singer Mary Rademacher; and Dr. D. B. Walker, who was the main feature of last year’s event and is back by popular demand. The event will be closed out by WVIB-FM radio personality Paul “Moz” Mosby, who will spin some tunes that everyone can dance to.

“I got the idea for the DJ last year when everyone was out dancing on the grass,” Meeks said. “This year, we’ll have a patio for them to dance on a nice even surface and there will be a one-hour slot for them to dance off their frustrations.”

The Idlewild Homecoming Jazz & Blues Festival will begin at noon on Saturday, Aug. 2 in John Meeks Park, which is located at the intersection of Martin Luther King and Idlewild boulevards. To reserve a picnic table or tent space, call (231) 745-4742 or (231) 301-1074.

The event is sponsored by the Idlewild African American Chamber of Commerce, and more information can be found on the organization’s website: www.iaacc.com.