Beach Bards, Goodboy, Tom Jolin perform at Platte River Campgound

From staff reports

On Saturday, July 28 at 8 p.m. at the Platte River Campground Amphitheater, the poet/storyteller troupe The Beach Bards teams up with the musical group Goodboy! to perform Michigan’s state story, “The Legend of The Sleeping Bear,” as well as some history and lore of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Join local writer Anne-Marie Oomen, bards Bronwyn Jones, Joe VanderMeulen and Norm Wheeler, and singer/songwriters Patrick Niemisto and Chris Skellenger as they recount tales of the early settlers on the Manitou Islands, the hanging tree at Otter Creek, and the tall ship era shipwrecks near Glen Arbor, as well as songs about “The Last of the Leelanau Schooners,” the great 19th century harvest of the white pine, and the classic song “Half Way to Mackinac” in a celebration of our landscape and our past.

On Sunday, July 29, at 8 p.m., experience traditional Americana, old time, and Civil War Era music performed by Tom Jolin on hammered dulcimer, button accordion, banjo, harmonica, and more. Jolin has performed on NPR, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and at international folk festivals.

Both programs are free. Donations will be accepted. A Park Pass is required.